Fallen
by ANiteOwl
Summary: The Wizarding Community is in the midst of a terrible war. Darkness is ascending and the Ministry has fallen within its grasp. The Order is horribly outnumbered. Will the Teen Titans be able to help in a war against the Dark Lord?
1. The Dark Lord Ascending

"Avada Kedavra."

The flash of green light illuminated every corner of the room. Charity Burbage fell with a resounding crash, onto the table below, which trembled and creaked. Several of the Death Eaters leapt back in their chairs. Draco Malfoy fell out of his onto the floor.

"Dinner, Nagini, said Lord Voldemort softly, and the great snake swayed and slithered from his shoulders onto the polished wood.

What preceded this sentence was an apprehensive silence as the Death Eaters regained their composure. Draco had quickly picked himself off the floor and took his seat, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He then looked around as if expecting every occupant of the room to be looking at him, laughing at his vulnerability. Although no one seemed to have noticed.

Meanwhile, Nagini drew closer to Charity's corpse, which lay in the center of the table.

"What other information have you acquired?" Voldemort demanded, addressing Severus Snape and Yaxley, looking at each of them in turn. He ignored Nagini, who had already begun to ingest the body.

Yaxley spoke first.

"Yes, my Lord," he said, still determined to receive recognition from his Master. "It appears that the Order have recently added five new members to their ranks."

Voldemort remained silent, indicating that he should continue.

"They are five teenage - ," but before he could complete his sentence, the Death Eaters broke into raucous laughter once again, as they had done at the revelation that Bellatrix's niece had married a werewolf. Yaxley's face, which had been previously shown with pride, had now turned an ugly discolored red and he had an unpleasant sneer on his face.

"Wait!" screamed Yaxley, trying to silence the other Death Eaters. "I did not finish my sentence!" No one seemed to be listening. If anything, it only caused their laughter to increase.

"However, they are no ordinary teenagers, my Lord," said Snape and even though he did not raise the volume of his voice, it was heard clearly through the racket. Hereupon, the laughter ceased.

Yaxley now wore a highly unpleasant expression on his face, watching enviously as everyone turned to look at Snape.

"They are five teenage superheroes."

The attentiveness in the room immediately sharpened at these words. All of the Death Eaters were now listening intently, gazing at Snape and Voldemort.

"Is that so?" said the Dark Lord, but his voice had a pleasantly amused quality to it.

"Yes, my Lord," replied Snape. "They protect Jump City, California in the United States."

"How did they come to join the Order?" asked Voldemort.

"Apparently, their reputation precedes them. While they _are_ American superheroes, they are also very well-known in other parts of the world, including Great Britain. Albeit only to the Muggle population. They are known as the Teen Titans. It is most likely that the Order learned of their existence through the Muggle media. It was Minerva McGonagall who approached them the previous week and asked for their assistance. Obviously, they accepted. They are now a part of the Order of the Phoenix."

"There is also a possibility that they will be present next Saturday, when the Order moves Harry Potter from his relatives' home. It has not been confirmed, but it a very distinct possibility."

Nagini had now ingurgitated the body from the head to the torso. However, the process seemed to be progressing very slowly. Although no one seemed to be paying this much heed at the moment.

The Dark Lord had a smirk on his face, as if this news did not faze. On the contrary, it seemed to interest him.

"Very well. What information do you have on these 'Teen Titans'?" Voldemort inquired interestedly.

"We retrieved a news article from a Muggle tabloid that contains a brief summary and individual biography of each member, as well as their role in the team. Their pictures are also included."

As Snape said this, he rummaged through the pocket of his cloak. After a few seconds he pulled out a shrunken piece of paper, and his wand. With a flick of his wrist, the sheet returned to its regular size. From the frayed edges it could be concluded that it had been torn out from some place.

"Read it," said Voldemort slowly.

Snape complied and immediately began to read.

"' The Teen Titans consist of five teenage superheroes, each with special abilities. The team is led by Robin who, though lacking any powers, is highly trained in martial arts and wields a wide range of weapons. Beast Boy, though small in stature can shift into the form of any animal, living or extinct. He is also the main jokester of the group. Starfire, an alien from a distant planet called Tamaran, possesses the ability to fly, shoot green bolts out of her hands and eyes, and immense strength. She is also inherently the most sensitive Titan, but will not hesitate to attack if innocent bystanders or her friends are threatened. Cyborg, who is half-man and half-machine, uses his built in weapons and raw strength. He is the technical side of the team. Last but not least, is Raven. She possesses a large number of powers that include telekinesis, levitation, teleportation, rapid healing, empathy, telepathy and precognition among other things. Raven is said to be the most mysterious member of the group. She is also the most mature, often giving sage advice to the others about various subjects. This puzzling Titan is obviously of invaluable aid to her team and cares greatly for her friends, even to the extent of self-sacrifice.'"

Once Snape finished reading the article, he handed it to Voldemort. The Dark Lord took the paper in his long-fingered hands and brought it before his eyes. He stared at the sheet for several seconds, before he finally set it down, picked up Lucius' wand, flicked his wrist and levitated the object into the air. With another flick, he enlarged it past its original size, so that the other Death Eaters could clearly read the text and see the pictures of the Titans. The biographies were divided into individual sections with the corresponding image.

The leader, Robin, was of average stature but slightly muscled. He had short, spiky black hair and wore a mask that covered only his eyes, but effectively concealed his identity.

Beast Boy was, as described, small and short. He had pointed ears and a fang that could be seen sticking out of his mouth. However, the most peculiar thing about this particular Titan was the fact he was entirely green. His hair, eyes, and even skin were green. He also wore a silly grin on his face.

Starfire was overall an attractive girl. She was tall, had dark red hair that stopped at her lower back, bright green eyes and a kind face. Although, she did have strange eyebrows.

Cyborg was a hulking man. He was African-American and stood about six feet tall. The armor-like material on his body added to his bulk as well. He could seem very intimidating but in this picture he did not.

Finally, there was the Raven girl. She was above her average height, with pale skin, violet hair and eyes, and a small red gemstone on her forehead. Despite, the unusualness of the color, it did appear to be her natural hair color, including her eyes. Her face showed no emotion, but she was obviously very attractive as well.

All of the Death Eaters were staring intently at the pictures and they seemed unable to tear their eyes away.

"We retrieved something else as well, my Lord," said Snape with a look of arrogant pride in his black eyes. "Since the Titans are currently not in their home, we were able to easily infiltrate their Tower and managed to acquire brief footages of some of their battles."

Once again, he dug his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small glass vial. It was full of what appeared to be Pensieve memories. However, upon closer inspection, although it did greatly resemble them, were not memories. There was a distinct difference. Whereas, memories were neither gas nor liquid, the strange substance in the vial was slightly more solid.

"These were the only ones that were on hand."

"Good. Very good," said Voldemort, the smirk still lingering on his snake-like face. "Do you know which particular battles you retrieved?"

"Yes, my Lord," said Snape. "There are three in total, and they are arranged in chronological order. The first is a brief snippet of how the Titans first met. The second is consisted of two separate clips, but they are of the same battle. And the last one shows them battling a former member of their team who betrayed and tried to kill them."

The Dark Lord no longer had a smirk on his face. His red eyes now held a contemplative look in them.

"Interesting," said Voldemort quietly. "Hand me the vial then."

Snape quickly held out the vial in his outstretched hand for Voldemort to take. Voldemort enclosed his fingers around the object and took it from Snape's hand as he released his hold on it. After gazing at the substance within in deep thought, he tore his gaze away from it and it landed instead on his Death Eaters.

"I will allow you all to watch these three battles. It is vital that we be aware of what we are up against. Size is no guarantee of power. Do not underestimate your opponents. It is pride that comes before the fall of man."

"It is also important since there is a chance that they may be present at the moving of Harry Potter. I have been thwarted too many times to be thwarted once more."

"Yes, my Lord," murmured the group collectively.

With a simple movement of his wrist, a large screen materialized in front of them. However, it had the shape and appearance of a Pensieve, and was tilted in such a way that the people in the room could view its contents. As the images began to play out, the Death Eaters looked on with extreme curiosity; Nagini finally finished consuming the body of Charity Burbage.

* * *

The screen had now vanished, the video having just ended. An eerie silence lingered in the room. Everyone seemed too afraid to speak or make any noise whatsoever.However, the expression on the Dark Lord's face was indecipherable. Nagini had slithered back onto his shoulders, and he had resumed stroking her head with his long white finger.

The previously roaring fire in the grate had now been reduced to embers and the vicinity had considerably darkened.

After several more minutes of silence, the Dark Lord spoke.

"It seems that these children may cause a problem," said Voldemort softly.

Each person in the group was unnaturally still. Muscles tensed and no one dared to even breathe.

"Something must be done," murmured the Dark Lord quietly, just as the flames finally burned themselves out and the embers were all that remained.


	2. Meetings and Departures

A/N: I want to say thanks to all of you who have reviewed. I really appreciate it. Since some people are wondering, I'll say that I'm not completely sure if they're will be any pairings in this story. There might be, I'm just not sure yet.

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. R&R.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or Harry Potter. The only thing I own is the plot. The same applies to the last two chapters since I forgot to put a disclaimer.

* * *

The Burrow was a very strange house. It was several stories tall and was so crooked that it looked like it would fall at any moment. It was probably supported by magic. Despite its unusualness, it did appear to be a cheerful place to grow up in. 

However, the current weather was horrible. It was only six o' clock in the evening, but the sky outside was already pitch-black. There was also an eerie fog clinging to the ground. All this fog and cold in the middle of the summer was so odd.

Inside the Burrow, an Order meeting was taking place. Due to the death of their previous leader, Albus Dumbledore, Mad-Eye Moody was now the leader of the Order. Several other members were present at this meeting, such as Minerva McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Rubeus Hagrid, Arthur and Molly Weasley, and a few select others.

The Titans were also in attendance. The previous week, after they had agreed to join the Order, had been hectic. McGonagall had explained the war to them in more depth. The Order believed that the Dark Lord had infiltrated the Ministry of Magic, giving him more control over the Wizarding World. The Death Eaters had also experienced an increase in their ranks and dark creatures, known as Dementors, were reproducing rapidly, which was what was causing such terrible weather in the middle of July. Overall, things were not going well.

"We must decide what we are going to do," said Moody with a note of frustration in his voice. His blue, magical eye was swiveling rapidly in its socket. It was somewhat nauseating to look at.

"I thought we had agreed that the Titans would accompany you next Saturday, to remove the boy from his aunt and uncle's house," said McGonagall as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Minerva had also informed the Titans of their plan to move Harry Potter from his current place of safety to the Burrow. It was necessary because the protection that the blood magic provided would expire when he turned seventeen.

"We said it was a possibility, Minerva," growled Moody, "It would be too much of a risk. We would prefer to keep them unknown to You-Know-Who. If the Death Eaters happen to ambush us the night that we move the boy, the element of surprise will be lost."

"The Dark Lord will eventually learn of them, one way or another. It is inevitable," said Minerva impatiently. "If the Dark Lord has not yet learned of them, it is preferable that they go on this mission. He will not be expecting them and we will have the element of surprise."

Moody seemed to be contemplating what she just said. It was clear to everyone that he was reluctant to act upon her suggestion, but was considering it nonetheless.

A thick silence lingered after Minerva's statement. Everyone else seemed to be considering her words as well. The Titans had already agreed to this when it had first been suggested. Now, they were merely waiting for a decision to be made.

"Very well," said Moody. He then turned to look at the Titans. "Since you have already decided to go, you are aware that there is no backing out?"

The Titans nodded.

"Are you also aware of the dangerousness of this plan? There is a possibility that the false trail we laid, will not fool You-Know-Who and he could be planning to attack us next Saturday."

The Titans nodded their heads once again, indicating that they understood.

"Very well then, but you'll need to wear something darker or you'll stick out like a sore thumb," said Moody pointing at Robin. "We will also need to teach you two how to fly on a broomstick," this time pointing to Robin and Cyborg.

They nodded.

"Ok then. Now, as an extra precaution, six of us shall take some polyjuice potion to look like Potter. It will make it more difficult for the Death Eaters, if they don't know which of us the real boy is.

"What is this juice of poly potion that you speak of," asked Starfire curiously.

"Polyjuice potion is a potion that allows the drinker to retain the appearance of another," answered Tonks. In the week that the Titans had spent in the Magical world, Starfire and Tonks had been very taken with each other.

"Harry will not agree to this," said Remus tiredly, "He will not wish to put those he cares for in danger."

"He won't have a choice," said Moody. "We are all conscious of the risk we are taking. There will be no argument about it."

Raven stepped forward.

"What should happen if the Dark Lord is aware that we do not plan to move the boy on the thirtieth, but knows that we intend to move him Saturday next?" asked Raven, as usual letting no emotion cross her features.

"We will have to be prepared," replied Moody. "Even if he believes that we're moving Potter the thirtieth, he would be foolish not to have a few scouts in the air. There is no point of Disillusioning ourselves, that won't protect us if we are assaulted."

"Well, we have discussed everything that needs to be discussed. We'll meet back here next Saturday."

Everyone nodded.

"Meeting adjourned."

* * *

The time had finally arrived.

All of the Order members were outside in the back garden, waiting to depart. Some were holding broomsticks, Hagrid was sitting astride a motorbike, and the rest were next to skeletal black winged horses, called thestrals.

"Raven, will you able to transport us all to Little Whinging?" asked Remus concernedly. Everybody turned to look at her.

"Yes, it'll be no problem, but I won't have enough energy to transport us back here," said Raven monotonously, although she did appreciate his concern. "Is everyone here?"

"Yes. Let's get going," said Moody impatiently.

Raven closed here eyes. After a few seconds, she reopened them and they glowed with white energy, She lifted her hands into the air and immediately, a dome of black energy encased all in the group. Just as quickly, it dissolved into the ground.

The group re-emerged in a dark back garden. The darkness seemed to be rippling, the air itself quivering.

In front of them, stood a large suburban house. The door was wrenched open and there was a general cry of greeting as out hurtled the Boy-Who-Lived.

Harry Potter was a tall sixteen-year-old boy. He had messy, jet-black hair and bright green almond-shaped eyes that were concealed behind thick round glasses. He was hugged by a girl with bushy brown hair, Hermione Granger, recalled Raven, and clapped on the back by the youngest red-head, Ron Weasley.

"All righ', Harry? Ready for the off?" asked Hagrid.

"Definitely," said Harry beaming around at them all. "But I wasn't expecting this many of you!"

"Change of plan," growled Moody, who was holding two enormous, bulging sacks, and whose magical eye was once again spinning from the darkening sky to house to garden with dizzying rapidity. "Let's get undercover before we talk you through it."

Harry led them all back into the kitchen where, laughing and chattering, they settled on chairs or leaned up against the walls. If Raven hadn't known any better, she would have thought this was a joyous family reunion.

"Kingsley, I thought you were looking after the Muggle Prime Minister?" called Harry across the room.

"He can get along without me for one night," said Kingsley. "You're more important."

Harry then turned his attention to the five teenagers in the corner, which he had previously overlooked.

"Who are you guys?" asked Harry curiously.

"Harry, these are the Teen Titans," said Remus. "They are American superheroes who have agreed to help us with the war."

"This is Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven," said Remus pointing at each Titan in turn.

"Hi," said Harry tentatively, while stretching out his hand for them to take. After shaking hands with each of them, he turned to look at the others in the room.

"All right, all right, we'll have time for a cozy catch-up later!" roared Moody over the chatter and silence fell in the kitchen. Moody dropped the bags at his feet, and turned to Harry. "As Dedalus probably told you, we had to abandon Plan A. Pius Thicknesse has been placed under the Imperius Curse, which gives us a big problem. He's made it an imprisonable crime to connect this house to the Floo network, place a Portkey here, or Apparate in or out. All done to, supposedly, prevent You-Know-Who getting in at you. Absolutely pointless, as your mother's charm does that already, and very effectively. What he's really done is keep you from leaving."

"Then how did you all get here," asked Harry, " I didn't see you all get off the brooms or thestrals."

"Raven here has the power of teleportation," said Moody, "But it took too much energy to transport all of us here, thestrals and all. So we won't be able to teleport back to the Burrow."

"Anyway, our second problem is that you're underage. This means you've still got the Trace on you."

"I don't –"

"The Trace, the Trace!" said Moody impatiently. "The charm that detects magical activity of those who are under the age of seventeen. If you, or anyone around you, cast a spell to get you out of here, Thicknesse is going to know, and so will the Death Eaters."

"Apparently, Raven's magic is undetectable by the Ministry. This is how we were able to get here undetected," said Moody because Harry looked like he was about to ask this question.

"But we can't wait for the Trace to break, because the moment you turn seventeen you'll lose all the protection your mother gave you. In short: Pius Thicknesse thinks he's got you cornered good."

From the expression on Harry's face, it was obvious that he thought so as well.

"So what are we going to do?"

"We're going to use our last means of transportation, the only one that cannot be detected, because no spell-casting is required: brooms, thestrals, and Hagrid's motorbike."

"Now, your mother's charm will only break under two conditions: when you come of age, or when you no longer call this place your home. You and your aunt and uncle are going separate ways tonight, in the full understanding that you're never going to live together again."

Harry nodded.

"So this time when you leave, there is no turning back. We're choosing to break your mother's charm early, because the alternative is waiting for You-Know-Who to come and take you the moment you turn seventeen."

"The one thing we've got is that You-Know-Who doesn't know we're moving you tonight. At least, we hope he doesn't know."

"We leaked a false trail to the Ministry, saying that we do not plan to move you until the thirtieth of July."

"However, this is You-Know-Who we're dealing with, so we cannot assume anything. He's bound to have a couple Death Eater lookouts patrolling the skies around this area. So we've placed as many protection charms as possible on a dozen different houses. They all look like places that we might hide you. My house, Kingsley's place, Molly's Auntie Muriel, etc."

"Yeah," said Harry.

"You'll be going to Tonks' parents. Once you're within the boundaries of the protective enchantments, you'll be able to Portkey straight to the Burrow. Any questions?"

"Err – yes," said Harry. "Maybe they won't know which house I'll be going to, but won't it be obvious once nineteen of us fly off to Tonks' parents'?"

"Ah," said Moody, "I forgot to mention that nineteen of us won't be flying to Tonks' parents'. There will be seven Potters moving through the sky tonight. Each of them heading to a different direction."

From inside his cloak Moody withdrew a flask of what appeared to be Polyjuice potion.

It was obvious that Harry understood the plan.

"No!" said Harry loudly, his voice ringing through the kitchen. "No way!"

"I told them you'd react this way," said Hermione with a hint of smugness in her voice.

"If you think I'm going to let six people risk their lives - !"

"– because it's the first time for all of us," said Ron sarcastically.

"This is different pretending to be me –"

"Well, none of us really fancy it, Harry," said Fred earnestly. "Imagine if something went wrong and we were stuck as specky, scrawny gits for the rest of our lives."

Raven noticed that the side of Robin's lip twitched at this comment. But Harry did not smile.

"You can't do it if I don't cooperate; you need me to give you some hair."

"Well that's that plan foiled," said George. "Obviously there's no chance at all of us getting a bit of your hair unless you cooperate."

"Yeah, eighteen of us against one bloke who's not allowed to use magic; we've got no chance," said Fred.

"Funny," said Harry, "really amusing."

"If it has to come to force, then so be it," growled Moody, his magical eye quivering in its socket as he glared at Harry. "Everyone here's overage and prepared to take the risk."

A man named Mundungus Fletcher shrugged and grimaced; Moody's magical eye swerved sideways to glare at him as well.

"Let's have no arguments. Time's wearing on. I want a few of your hairs, boy, now."

"But this is mad, there's no need – "

"No need!" snarled Moody. "With You-Know-Who out there and half the Ministry on his side, we'll be lucky if he's swallowed the fake bait and plans to ambush you on the thirtieth. But he'd be mad to not have a few Death Eaters keeping an eye out. They know the rough location of this place. Our only chance is to use decoys. Even You-Know-Who can't split himself in seven."

Raven noticed Harry and Hermione share a brief look before quickly looking away. She raised an eyebrow. 'Maybe he _can_split himself in seven,' thought Raven.

"So Potter – some of your hair, if you please."

Harry looked at Ron, who grimaced in a just-do-it sort of way.

"Now!" barked Moody.

With everyone's eyes on him, Harry reached up to the top of his head, grabbed a hank of hair, and pulled.

"Good," said Moody, limping forward as he pulled the stopper out of the flask of potion. "Put it in here."

Harry dropped the hair into the mud like liquid. The moment it made contact with its surface, the potion began to froth and smoke, and then all at once, it turned a clear, bright gold.

"Right then, fake Potters line up over here, please," said Moody.

Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Fleur lined up.

"We're one short," said Lupin.

"Here," said Hagrid gruffly, and he lifted Mundungus by the scruff of the neck and dropped him down beside Fleur.

"I've toldjer. I'd sooner be a protector," said Mundungus.

"Shut it," growled Moody. "As I've already told you, you spineless worm, any Death Eaters we run into will be aiming to capture Potter, not kill him. Dumbledore always said You-Know-Who would want to finish Potter in person. It'll be the protectors who have got the most to worry about."

Mundungus did not look particularly reassured by this, but Moody was already pulling half a dozen eggcup-sized glasses from inside his cloak, which he handed out after pouring a little Polyjuice potion into each.

"Altogether, then . . . "

Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Fleur, and Mundungus drank. All of them gasped and grimaced. Starfire gasped when their features began to bubble and distort like hot wax.

Moody, quite unconcerned, was now loosening the ties of the large sacks he had brought with him. When he straightened up, there were six Harry Potters gasping and panting in front of him.

"Those who feel their clothes are a bit roomy or vice versa, I've got extra clothes here," said Moody indicating the first sack. "Don't forget the glasses; there are six pairs in the side pocket. And when you're dressed, there's luggage in the other sack."

Raven thought this was one of the most bizarre things she had ever seen, and she had seen some pretty bizarre things. She briefly wondered how Harry must be feeling, seeing as his doppelgangers were displaying his body for all to see.

However, she quickly brushed this thought aside. She had other things to worry about. There was a huge chance that the Dark Lord had not 'swallowed the fake bait' as Moody put it. What if he had somehow seen right through it and was aware that the actual date of Harry's removal was not the thirtieth of July, but tonight. If he knew . . . the consequences would be disastrous.

During the two weeks that she had been in the Magical world, on one day in particular, she had had a brief vision. In it, she had been flying and heard a scream. That was all she had seen, but it had been haunting her ever since. She had spent several hours trying to decipher its meaning, but had been unable to discover what it meant.

This had been before she had been informed of the Order's plan to move Harry from his aunt and uncle's house to the Burrow. It was in that moment that Raven knew. But since then, she desperately hoped that she was wrong.

"Good," said Moody, bringing Raven out of her thoughts. The six doppelgangers were dressed at last, bespectacled and luggage-laden. "The pairs will be as follows: Mundungus will be traveling with me, by broom -"

"Why'm I with you?" grunted the Harry nearest the back door.

"Because you're the one that needs watching," growled Moody, and sure enough, his magical eye did not waver from Mundungus as he continued, "Arthur and Fred –"

"I'm George," said the twin at whom Moody was pointing. "Can't you tell us apart even when we're Harry?"

"Sorry, George –"

"I'm only yanking your wand, I'm Fred really –"

"Enough messing around!" snarled Moody, but Beast Boy could hardly contain his laughter. "The other one – George or Fred or whoever you are – you're with Remus. Miss Delacour –"

"I'm taking Fleur on a thestral," said Bill. "She's not that fond of brooms."

"Miss Granger with Kingsley, again by thestral –"

From Hermione's look of reassurance, Raven could tell that she too was not particularly fond of brooms.

"Which leaves you and me, Ron!" said Tonks brightly.

Ron didn't look quite as pleased as Hermione by this.

"An' you're with me, Harry. That all righ'?" said Hagrid looking a little anxious. "We'll be on the bike, brooms an' thestrals can't take me weight, see. Not a lot of room on the seat with me on it, though, so you'll be in the sidecar."

"That's great," said Harry, but Raven sensed that he was not being truthful.

"We think the Death Eaters will expect you to be on a broom," said Moody, who seemed to guess what Harry was feeling. "Snape's had plenty of time to tell them everything about you, so if we do run into any Death Eaters, they'll most likely go after the Potter that looks at home on a broomstick. All right then," he said, tying up the sack with the fake Potters' clothes and leading the way to the back door, "I make it three minutes until we're supposed to leave. No point locking the back door, it won't keep the Death Eaters out when they come looking."

". . . Come on . . ."

'Not if they're already waiting for us,' thought Raven. She mentally shook herself, quickly pushing such negative thoughts out of her head.

Once outside in the back garden, Harry seemed to notice something.

"Wait, we're short three brooms."

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention. Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy can fly. They don't need to use brooms or thestrals. However, Robin and Cyborg will be going on brooms."

Harry's eyes widened.

"Ok, you five will be flying around us. Cyborg and Beast Boy, you'll be on the sides, Robin and Starfire in the front, and Raven you'll be in the back. Once we each make it to one of the safe houses, head to the one nearest you. But don't all go to the same one."

They nodded.

"All right then," said Moody. "Everyone ready please; I want us all to leave at exactly the same time or the whole point of the diversion's lost."

Everybody mounted their brooms. Hagrid kicked the motorbike into life and Beast Boy shifted into a hawk.

"Good luck, everyone," shouted Moody. "See you all in about an hour at the Burrow. On the count of three. One . . . two . . . THREE!"

'I hope so,' though Raven somberly as she kicked off the ground and quickly rose through the air. Her eyes watered slightly from the rush of cold air. In front of her, brooms were soaring upward as well; the long black tail of a thestral flickered past.

Upon seeing them for the first time, Raven was intrigued by these horse-like creatures. Whereas many others would probably be repulsed by the sight of them, Raven found herself fascinated by them. When she asked Minerva about theses creatures, she remembered that a look of sadness has suddenly crossed her features. She had remained silent several minutes after the question had been asked and Raven was unsure whether she would answer. When she had finally regained her composure, she told Raven that only those who had witnessed death were able to see them. Raven felt embarrassed after this, but Minerva had quickly changed the subject and it was forgotten.

Now she understood why only she, Robin, Beast Boy and Cyborg could see them but Starfire could not. They had all seen someone die. Starfire, fortunately, had not. They did not mention it again, not wanting to talk about it. There were a few others in the Order that could not see them, and as she rose higher and higher into the air, she hoped that they would never be able to.

Suddenly, she was broken out of her thoughts by a scream somewhere in the distance.

* * *

A/N: Wow, a cliffie. I know you'll probably hate me for it, but they're just so much fun to write. I hope you liked this chapter. Please leave a review. All you have to do is press that little purple button at the bottom of the page. ;) 


	3. Calamity

They were surrounded. And outnumbered. At least thirty hooded figures formed a vast circle in the midst of which the Order members had risen.

Suddenly, blazes of light began flying in every direction: The battle had begun.

The Order broke out of their circle and the scene before her was in complete disarray.

'How did they know?!' thought Raven frantically, but decided that now was not the time as she narrowly dodged a jet of red light. She immediately summoned her powers and an orb of black energy formed around her fists.

Raven noticed that two or three Death Eaters seemed to be heading her direction while also aiming for her. Another jet of light was hurtling her way but she quickly blocked it with a swipe of her hand, leaving a trail of her energy behind. Upon impact, the spell did not bounce off as one might expect, but fizzled and disappeared soon afterwards. Raven was staring curiously at the place where her shield had previously been but promptly stifled her curiosity, as she blocked another spell.

As she kept flying forward, this pattern continued. The Death Eaters would shoot a curse only for Raven to block it. After a few more minutes, her opponents seemed to be getting frustrated with such meager hexes and began to fire off other spells that were not to be taken lightly.

More curses shot after Raven and she had to swerve several times to avoid them, as the Death Eaters grew more fierce with every attack. Since they were no longer worried about hurting her, she chose to go on the offensive. Her eyes glowed white and she began to shoot large blasts of black energy at her pursuers, one after the other relentlessly.

Ahead of her, Raven noticed that she was not the only one being followed and attacked. Starfire had three Death Eaters targeting her as well, and her eyes glowed a bright green as she shot her star bolts at them. One of her shots quickly broke through her adversary's shield and hit him full in the chest. He let out a cry of pain from the scorching heat of her attack and fell backwards off his broom. One of his companions slowed down to help him.

Raven continued watching, temporarily distracted, but cried out as she felt an intense pain near her abdomen. She looked down and saw that her leotard had been torn and blood was seeping from a deep wound in her stomach.

Raven's eyes briefly glowed a vivid red, before quickly returning to their normal violet. Although her anger had yet to subside.

"No more games," growled Raven slowly. She turned around in mid-flight, still flying forward, and shot several shards of black energy at her enemies. The front most Death Eater pulled up a shield, deflecting the shards easily, sending them off in various directions, hitting a Death Eater behind him causing him to cry out in pain.

But this did not cause to cease her assault.

Raven then brought her hands above and behind her head, and then threw a large black beam through the air at her opponents. He was not quick enough; he took the full blast of the attack and was blasted cleanly off his broom. His counterpart fell back and vanished. The other seemed to have disappeared as well.

She anxiously looked around, searching for any more Death Eaters. She saw none, but she could not relax nor did she let her guard down. After looking thoroughly for a few more seconds, Raven decided to fly to the Burrow, thankful that she had memorized the path. She Disillusioned herself and began to head in that direction.

'How could they have known' thought Raven. Just as she had predicted, the Death Eaters had been waiting for them. She had acknowledged the possibility but she had not thought about 'how.' This surprised her considering the fact that she had once been in a similar situation.

The Death Eaters that had been chasing her appeared at first to have no intention of injuring her, they were merely trying to Stun her. But if she had been Stunned, she would most likely have fallen to her death. It was merely out of frustration that they had begun to use more deadly curses.

But why had they immediately begun to attack her. She had expected them to simply ignore her but they did the exact opposite. This meant that the Dark Lord must have already known about her and her friends. This led her back to the same question: How?

However, this also created a whole new set of questions. Why did he order his followers to merely Stun her? If he had wanted to eliminate them, he could have done so very easily. Had any of her friends been attacked as well?

'If so, then why?' This question echoed itself in Raven's mind as she drew closer to the Burrow. The sun had yet to rise and the moon was nearly hidden behind a thick cluster of gray clouds. It was no wonder they hadn't seen the Death Eaters beforehand.

As Raven's mind drifted, she soon became overwhelmed with worry. What had happened to her friends? Were they alright? What if they had been unable to make it to any of the safe houses? These and many more questions plagued her as she travel. However, there was one particular question that she refused to even acknowledge for fear that it may be true.

The cold night air hit her face and her eyes watered. Her hood had fallen off during the previous scuffle and she saw no point in concealing her face. She was currently invisible and since the Dark Lord apparently knew about the Titans' involvement, he must have seen some picture of her.

Finally, after several minutes, she could see the Burrow only a few yards away. She landed gracefully and silently in the back garden. She spotted Mrs.Weasley and her daughter Ginny a few feet in front of her, gazing anxiously at the black sky. Raven removed the Disillusionment charm and moved toward the mother and daughter.

"Mrs.Weasley," said Raven tiredly. Molly started and rapidly turned around, wand in hand pointing at Raven. But upon seeing who it was, she lowered her wand and breathed a sigh of relief while placing a hand over her chest to steady her pounding heart.

"Oh, Raven, it's you. Thank goodness you're alright!" she cried happily while pulling her into a tight embrace. Raven stiffened. She wasn't used to receiving hugs, well except from Starfire. But she returned the gesture, touched that Molly actually cared about her well-being.

As Mrs.Weasley let go of Raven, she looked down and gasped. She had noticed the deep slice, and the blood pouring from it.

"What happened?!"

"We were ambushed; the Death Eaters knew that we were going to move Harry tonight. This," said Raven pointing to her wound, "was done to me by a Death Eater during the battle. About three Death Eaters instantly began attacking me and only me, but I saw three others attacking Starfire as well. I'm not sure what happened to the others."

"Has anyone else arrived yet?" asked Raven.

"No, you're the only one to have arrived," answered Molly worriedly. She and Ginny exchanged looks and Raven sensed fear pass between them.

All of a sudden, Harry and Hagrid materialized out of nothingness on their hands and knees, holding a hairbrush.

Mrs.Weasley screamed and ran over to Harry and Ginny ran over as well while Raven walked calmly over to them. Harry stood up swaying slightly as Hagrid also lifted himself from the ground.

"Harry? You are the real Harry? What happened? Raven said you had all been ambushed? Have you seen any of the others?" cried Mrs.Weasley.

"Raven's right. Wait, what d'you mean? Isn't anyone else back?" asked Harry, now looking at Raven for an answer.

Raven shook her head solemnly. "I was being chased by three Death Eaters. I don't know what happened to the others."

Harry instantly paled at her words. After a few seconds, he regained his composure enough to speak.

"As Raven told you, the Death Eaters were waiting for us. We were surrounded the moment we took off – they knew it was tonight – I don't know what happened to anyone else either. We were chased by four of them too, it was all we could do to get away, and then Voldemort caught up with us –,"

Raven could hear the self-justifying note in his voice; he was obviously feeling guilty for not being able to tell Molly what had become of her sons. But then her eyes widened as she realized what Harry had said.

"Voldemort was there?!" asked Raven, shocked. Mrs.Weasley and Ginny flinched upon hearing Voldemort's name spoken aloud but she paid it no heed.

Harry nodded in the same way she had. Raven, if possible, paled at this.

"Thank goodness you're alright," said Mrs.Weasley, pulling Harry into a hug just as she had done to Raven.

"Haven't go' any brandy, have yeh, Molly?" asked Hagrid a little shakily. "Fer medicinal purposes?"

Molly could have summoned it by magic, but as she hurried back toward the crooked house, Raven knew that she simply wanted to hide her face from them. Raven sympathized with Molly: Displaying her emotions for others to see made her feel vulnerable. She pushed these thoughts aside, took a deep breath and quickly cleared her mind. She then turned to face Ginny, as did Harry. Ginny seemed to understand what they were getting at.

"Ron and Tonks should have been back, but they missed their Portkey, it came back without them," she said pointing at a rusty oil can lying on the ground nearby. "And that one," she pointed at an ancient sneaker, "should have been Dad and Fred's; they were supposed to be second. You and Hagrid were third and," she checked her watch, "if they made it, George and Lupin ought to be back in about a minute. Your friends, Raven were supposed to head to the closest safe house inconspicuously, just in case. By the way, why were you being chased by Death Eaters? They're not supposed to know about you guys."

"Well as soon as the battle started, three Death Eaters were after me, trying to Stun me. It wasn't until afterwards that they began using more lethal curses. But I figured that since the Death Eaters began attacking us the moment we took off, it must have been planned. Otherwise, they probably would have just ignored us."

Harry and Ginny shared an anxious look.

Mrs.Weasley reappeared carrying a bottle of brandy, which she handed to Hagrid. He uncorked it and drank it all in one huge gulp.

"Mum!" shouted Ginny, pointing to a spot several feet away. A blue light had appeared in the darkness: It grew larger and brighter, and Remus, George and Robin appeared, spinning and then falling. Raven knew immediately that something was wrong. Robin and Remus were supporting George, who was unconscious and covered in a red liquid that Raven recognized as blood. Its scent was overwhelming.

Raven instantly ran forward as fast as her legs would allow, and levitated George into the house to the sitting room, laying him gently on the sofa. The others quickly followed. As the lamplight flickered on, Raven's stomach clenched painfully and she heard Ginny gasp behind her: One of George's ears was missing. The side of his head and neck were drenched in wet, shockingly scarlet blood.

"Mrs.Weasley, I need you to bring me a cloth soaked with cool water. I'm going to try and heal George's wound," said Raven shakily yet with a note of authority in her voice.

Molly nodded her head, eyes brimming with unshed tears, and ran hastily into the kitchen. As Raven examined the injury, she barely noticed Remus dragging Harry out of the room. Molly returned in a heartbeat, arm outstretched with the cloth in her hand, indicating that Raven should take it. She complied and pulled it from Molly's shaking hand. She then began to gently wipe away the blood.

As she continued working, she heard a scuffling outside, and the door open shortly afterward. Raven ignored this and focused all of her attention on George. After she had cleaned off all the blood, she laid the now crimson rag aside. Her hands began to glow with a light blue aura and she concentrated on first staunching the bleeding. Once the blood stopped flowing through the wound, Raven murmured a string of soft musical phrased under her breath. She opened her eyes and was upset to find that her spell had not worked. She tried once again only to be disappointed. The gaping hole remained.

"How is he?"

Raven nearly jumped. She turned around to see Harry standing there. "I can't make his ear grow back, not when it's been removed by Dark Magic. I tried nonetheless." Raven looked down guiltily.

Harry placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder causing Raven to look up at him. He had a kind smile on his face clearly showing that he did not blame her whatsoever.

"Like you said, you tried and that's all that matters. Besides, it isn't your fault," his green eyes instantly darkened with hatred, "it's Snape's."

Raven tilted her head, looking at him curiously. "Snape's the one who killed Dumbledore," said Harry in response. "He's also the one who cut off George's ear."

A look of realization dawned in Raven's eyes and she nodded her head, showing that she understood.

"Well, it could have been much worse I suppose. He's alive at least," said Raven.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Thank God."

"Did I hear someone else in the yard?" Raven asked.

"Hermione, Kingsley, and Cyborg."

"Thank goodness," whispered Raven.

"I'll prove who I am, Kingsley, after I've seen my son, now back off if you know what's good for you!"

Raven was surprised. In her short time here, she had never heard Mr.Weasley shout like this. Actually, she had never heard him shout at all. He burst into the living room, his bald patch gleaming with sweat, his glasses askew on his nose with Fred, Robin and Cyborg right behind. All of them, thankfully uninjured.

"Arthur!" sobbed Mrs.Weasley. "Oh thank goodness!"

"How is he?"

Mr.Weasley dropped down to his knees beside George. Fred seemed to be lost for words and both Robin and Cyborg instantly paled at the sight.

Perhaps roused by the sound of their arrival, George stirred.

"How do you feel, Georgie?" whispered Mrs.Weasley.

George's fingers groped for the side of his head.

"Saintlike," he murmured.

"What's wrong with him?" croaked Fred, looking terrified. "Is his mind affected?"

"Saintlike," repeated George, opening his eyes and looking up at his brother. "You see . . . I'm holy. _Holey_, Fred, geddit?"

Mrs.Weasley sobbed harder than ever, and even Raven couldn't restrain a small smile. Color flooded Fred's pale face.

"Pathetic," he told George. "Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humor before you, you go for holey?"

"Ah, well," said George grinning at his tear-soaked mother. "You'll be able to tell us apart now, anyway, Mum."

He then looked at Raven.

"Thanks for taking care of me Rae," said George with the grin still on his face.

"How did you know it was me?" Raven asked surprised and temporarily ignoring the use of her nickname.

"I guessed," he shrugged. "Plus I feel relaxed right now and you told us that that was a side effect of your healing."

"Your welcome," said Raven with the smile lingering on her face, "but if you ever call me 'Rae' again, I won't be so nice next time."

"Yes Ma'am!" said George jokingly. He looked around.

"Hi Harry – you are Harry, right?"

"Yeah I am," said Harry, moving closer to the sofa.

"Well at least we got back ok," said George. "Why aren't Ron and Bill huddled around my sickbed?"

"They're not back yet, George," said Mrs.Weasley. George's grin faded.

Robin looked around the room. "Where are Starfire and Beast Boy," he asked Raven. Cyborg leaned in to listen as well.

"They haven't arrived either," said Raven worriedly. Robin and Cyborg paled even further.

"Let's go outside and wait for them," said Robin somewhat calmly. Raven nodded. Robin placed a comforting arm around her shoulders and led her through the door and Cyborg followed. When they made it outside Kingsley, Harry, Ginny, Hagrid, Hermione and Remus were already outside, gazing upward in silence.

The minutes stretched into what might as well have been years. The slightest noise made them all jump and turn toward the whispering bush or tree in the hope that one of the missing Order members would suddenly jump out from behind its leaves - .

And then a broom and two dark figures materialized directly above them and streaked toward the ground.

"It's them!" screamed Hermione.

Tonks landed in a long skid that sent earth and pebbles everywhere.

The other two people were Starfire and Beast Boy in hawk form. Upon setting foot on the ground, he shifted back into his regular form, and he along with Starfire ran toward Robin, Raven and Cyborg. When they were close enough, Starfire pulled them all into a crushing group hug.

"Oh thank goodness friends, you are alright!" cried Starfire joyously.

"Uh Star, we can't breathe," choked Cyborg.

"Oh, sorry friends, I am just elated to see you all," said Starfire releasing her tight hold on them.

"Yeah, what she said," Beast Boy, taking in large gulps of air while rubbing his arm.

"What happened?" asked Raven.

"Oh it was horrible," said Starfire. "I was pursued by three of those Eaters of Death and they were shooting red beams of light from their wands toward me. I managed to hit one of them with my starbolts, the other went to help him I defeated the others as well. Then I decided to fly back to the Burrow and ran into friend Beast Boy along the way, along with Tonks and Ron. That is how we came to be here."

After she concluded her explanation, they all turned to look at Beast Boy. He took the hint.

"I was attacked too, but I got rid of them and flew here," said Beast Boy.

Robin and Cyborg's explanations were the same as well.

"But if they planned to attack us that means . . ." Robin didn't trailed off.

"That he already knows about us," finished Raven.

An eerie silence followed this statement, but they were brought out of their reverie by a faint 'pop' as Kingsley Disapparated

Mr. and Mrs.Weasley came racing down the back steps. Both parents hugged Ron before turning Remus and Tonks.

"Thank you," said Mrs.Weasley, "for our sons."

"Don't be silly Molly," said Tonks at once.

"How's George?" asked Remus.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Ron anxiously.

"He's lost –,"

But the end of Mrs.Weasley's sentence was drowned in a general outcry: A thestral had just soared into sight and landed a few feet from them. Bill and Fleur slid from its back, windswept but unhurt.

"Bill! Thank God, thank God -,"

Mrs.Weasley ran forward, but the hug Bill bestowed upon her was perfunctory and Raven sensed that something was wrong. Looking directly at his father, he said, "Mad-Eye's dead."

Raven paled and Starfire clasped a hand to her mouth. Nobody spoke, nobody moved.

"We saw it," said Bill; Fleur nodded, tear tracks glittering on her cheeks in the light from the kitchen window. "It happened just after we broke out of the circle: Mad-Eye and Dung were close by us, they were heading north too. Voldemort – he can fly – went straight for them. Dung panicked, I heard him cry out, Mad-Eye tried to stop him, but he Disapparated. Voldemort's curse hit Mad-Eye full in the face, he fell backward off his broom and – there was nothing we could do, we had half a dozen of them on our tail -,"

Bill's voice broke.

"Of course you couldn't have done anything," said Remus.

They all stood looking at each other. It was difficult for Raven to comprehend. Mad-Eye dead; it could not be . . . . Mad-Eye, so tough, so brave . . . .

At last it seemed to dawn on everyone, though nobody said it, that there was no point waiting in the yard anymore, and in silence they followed Mr. and Mrs.Weasley back into the Burrow, and into the living room, where Fred and George were laughing together.

"What's wrong?" said Fred scanning their faces as they entered. "What's happened? Who's - ?"

"Mad-Eye," said Mr.Weasley. "Dead."

The twins' turned to grimaces of shock. Nobody seemed to know what to do. Tonks was crying silently into a handkerchief while Starfire was crying into her hand. Hagrid, who had sat down on the floor in the corner where he had most space, was dabbing at his eyes with his table-cloth sized handkerchief.

Bill walked over to the sideboard and pulled out a bottle of firewhisky and some glasses.

"Here," he said, and with a wave of his wand he sent seventeen full glasses soaring through the room to each of them, holding the thirteenth aloft. "Mad-Eye."

"Mad-Eye," they all said, and drank.

As Raven brought the cool glass to her lips and took a small sip, she wondered, how many others would they have to toast before this war ended.


	4. Happy Birthday

A/N: Chapter Five is finally here. Sorry it took a while. My computer had a virus and I was unable to type up the chapter. I hope you all like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Teen Titans. Just the plot.

* * *

The shock of Mad-Eye's death hung over the house in the days that followed: Raven kept expecting to see him limping in through the back door to relay important news, as had been the routine for the past weeks.

She was not the only one either. At dinner time, Molly would turn from her place at the stove, looking at the door expectantly, as if someone were about to open it and step inside.

Raven was currently in the shower. The cool water trickled down her body and relaxed her muscles as she stood their in the icy spray, letting her mind wander once again.

Logic told Raven that she had nothing to feel guilty about. That she had been preoccupied at the time, and there was nothing she could have done. That it wasn't her fault. She knew that Logic was correct, but this did not quell the guilt that overwhelmed her.

Only action could justify her remorse.

As the days passed, Voldemort was rapidly gaining more control over the Wizarding world.

It seems that a few days prior to that fateful night, there had been a mass breakout from Azkaban. They should have been expecting this to happen, sooner or later. The Dementors, who had once guarded the dread fortress Azkaban, had now revolted and joined the Dark Lord. However, no one was the wiser. This was not due to inference by the Death Eaters; rather it was because their idiotic Minister believed it to be in everyone's best interest not to know.

Raven shook her head. This is why she didn't trust the establishment.

Her mind now drifted to all the terrible events that had been occurring recently. Mysterious disappearances and murders were now becoming common occurrences, and the weather seemed to grow more dismal with each passing day.

'When will this war come to an end?' thought Raven solemnly.

She pushed such misgivings from her mind, which was now becoming easier to do, washed her hair, and quickly got dressed.

Raven slowly entered the kitchen and noticed that the only others at the breakfast table were Harry and Ron. Bill and Mr.Weasley had just left for work. She had also seen Molly rushing up the stairs and assumed that she went to wake the others, while Fleur drifted off to take a bath.

As Raven sat down, she unintentionally overheard Harry and Ron's conversation.

"The Trace'll break on the thirty-first," said Harry. "That means I only need to stay here four days. Then I can –,"

"Five days," Ron corrected firmly. "We've got to stay for the wedding. They'll kill us if we miss it."

Raven tuned out the remainder of their discussion.

She suspected that she wasn't meant to hear the words they had just exchanged, but her curiosity had been overwhelming. Remus had told her that Harry and his friends planned to leave shortly, on a mission that Dumbledore had given them. Although, Harry refused point-black to reveal the contents of that mission to anyone, no matter how hard they persisted, such as Mrs.Weasley. Raven understood why they couldn't tell anyone. It would not only put them in danger, but others as well. She understood that only too well.

She briefly considered taking a peek into Harry's mind, but she quickly quashed that idea. She was against going into other people's mind: She viewed it as mind rape because it stripped a person of their utmost privacy.

'No,' thought Raven, 'not again.'

After a quick breakfast that consisted of herbal tea and a few pieces of toast, Raven spent most of her day helping Mrs.Weasley with certain wedding preparation. This had the advantage of keeping her mind busy, so she gladly took it. Given the opportunity, her thoughts would wander into the darker recesses of her mind, procuring images that were not particularly pleasant.

Her friends decided to help as well, most likely for the same reason. They had cleaned the cutlery, de-gnomed the garden (the boys had had much fun with this chore), helped cook vast batches of canapés, and color-match ribbons and flowers. Starfire had also taken much enjoyment from this task.

This they did for two days and not once had Raven been allowed time to think, for which she was grateful.

Raven was currently sitting in a chair in the kitchen with a book in her hands. This was a large tome containing several spells, each with different purposes and it also contained instructions on how to make certain potions, most of which were for healing purposes. Hermione had loaned her the book.

She was so deeply immersed in the book that she jumped slightly when the back door opened and Mr.Weasley, Bill and Kingsley walked in.

They were often joined by Order members for dinner now, because the Burrow had replaced number twelve, Grimmauld Place as headquarters. Mr.Weasley had explained that after the death of Dumbledore, their Secret-Keeper, each of the people to whom Dumbledore had confided Grimmauld Place's location had become a Secret-Keeper in turn.

"And as there are around twenty of us, that greatly dilutes the power of the Fidelius Charm. Twenty times as many opportunities for the Death Eaters to get the secret out of somebody. We can't expect it to hold much longer."

"But surely Snape will have told the Death Eaters the address by now?" asked Harry.

"Well, Mad-Eye set up a couple of curses against Snape, in case he turns up there again. We hope they'll be strong enough both to keep him out and to bind his tongue if he tries to talk about the place, but we can't be sure. It would have been insane to keep using the place as headquarters now that its protection has become so shaky."

The kitchen was so crowded that evening that it was difficult to even maneuver forks and knives.

"No news about Mad-Eye?" Harry asked Bill.

"Nothing," replied Bill.

They had been unable to hold a funeral for Moody, because Bill and Remus had failed to recover his body. It had been difficult to know where he might have fallen, given the darkness and the confusion of the battle.

"The Daily Prophet hasn't said a word about him dying or about finding the body," Bill continued. "But that doesn't mean much. It's keeping a lot quiet these days."

"And they still haven't called a hearing about all the underage magic I used escaping the Death Eaters?" Harry called across the table to Mr.Weasley, who shook his head.

"Because they know I had no choice or because they don't want me to tell the world that Voldemort attacked me?"

"The latter I think. Scrimgeour doesn't want to admit that You-Know-Who is as powerful as he is, nor that Azkaban has seen yet another mass breakout."

"Yeah, why tell the public the truth?" Harry, clenching his knife so tightly that Raven briefly noticed the faint scars on the back of his right hand, white against his skin. She was disgusted when she saw the words it spelled out: _I must not tell lies._

"Isn't anyone at the Ministry prepared to stand up to him?" asked Ron angrily.

"Of course, Ron, but people are terrified," replied Mr.Weasley.

"Terrified that they will be next to disappear, their children next to be attacked, their families torn apart," said Raven. Her voice was barely above a whisper but it carried clearly through the clattering of silverware. Silence followed.

"Yes," said Mr.Weasley. "There are nasty rumors going around; I for one don't believe that the Muggle Studies professor at Hogwarts resigned. She hasn't been seen for weeks now. Meanwhile Scrimgeour remains shut up in his office all day. I just hope he's working on a plan."

"Have you found out how Voldemort -," everyone flinched, "knew about us?" asked Robin pointing to his friends.

"Well, we don't know _how_ they knew that you all had joined the Order," said Bill thoughtfully, "but once they discovered this it would have been simple to find out more about you. What you may not be aware of is that, although you are American superheroes, you are also quite well-known in Great Britain as well as other parts of the world,"

Robin's eyes widened but Cyborg merely had a broad grin on his face upon hearing this news.

"So since You-Know-Who is aware that you five are on our side, we figure that it would be too dangerous for you to return to your Tower. There's a great chance that they expect you to return, and You-Know-Who probably has a few Death Eaters stationed there, awaiting your arrival."

They nodded grimly.

"What'll happen if Voldemort takes over the Ministry of Magic?" asjed Raven. "As we're Muggles and a nuisance, I highly doubt that he will want us to remain here."

Bill seemed to be contemplating her words.

After a few more minutes, he replied.

"If You-Know-Who gains control over the Ministry, we cannot send you back to the States for reasons that we just explained. It would also be very difficult create aliases for you all because for them to believable, you would all have to be Muggle-born, and if You-Know-Who takes over Muggle-borns probably won't even be allowed to attend Hogwarts."

"Therefore, if You-Know-Who takes over the Wizarding world, you all will have to go into hiding."

A distinct silence followed this sentence. Although no one wanted to think about it, by the way things were going, it seemed inevitable that Voldemort would eventually gain the control that he had been hoping to attain for several years.

"But if we're in hiding, how are we going to help?" asked Robin.

This time, it was Kingsley that replied.

"As you know, Muggle killings are now becoming very frequent," said Kingsley. They nodded. "If Voldemort overcomes the Ministry, the number of Muggle attacks will only increase. If possible, you could do what you did in the States: Protect innocent Muggles. Only it is necessary that you do so discreetly. But just by doing this, you are greatly contributing for our cause."

They did not even hesitate: They nodded immediately.

"Of course, you will be coming to the wedding," said Molly happily.

It was Harry's birthday.

Ron's older brother, Charlie had come for the celebration and had been introduced to each of the Titans. It seems that he had been told previously that they would be present at the Burrow when he arrived, and he bombarded them with questions. Such as what powers did they possess, why Beast Boy was completely green, if they came from other planet, etc.

They had answered most of his question before Mrs.Weasley suddenly forced Charlie into a chair, raised her wand threateningly and announced that he was about to get a proper haircut.

Beast Boy and Cyborg had had a good laugh at Charlie's expense and even helped Mrs.Weasley keep him from escaping.

Afterwards, Cyborg had followed Molly into the kitchen to help her make the cake. Starfire and Ginny were at the end of the table, talking animatedly and Robin and Beast Boy were talking to Charlie about dragons.

Raven was sitting in the corner, merely observing.

As she continued to watch, she began to reminisce about her own birthday. Her friends had very eager to celebrate once they found out. The only person that wasn't particularly thrilled was the 'birthday girl.' In fact, for most of the day she had remained locked up in her room, staring intently at the clock in her hands, watching the seconds tick by ever so slowly; Waiting for the day to end.

She had been unpleasantly surprised when her friends had thrown her a surprise party. However, the party had ended abruptly when Raven walked out, after having just destroyed the living room.

She had no desire whatsoever to celebrate her birthday. There was nothing to celebrate in her opinion. The reason being, that she alone was aware of the dark secret surrounding the day of her birth. She had quickly returned to her room, anxious for the day to end.

But before the day ended, she received yet another unpleasant surprise: A returned Slade imbued with dark powers.

He had easily overpowered her friends and so the game of cat-and-mouse had begun: Slade had chased her through the entire city before finally incapacitating her. He had ripped her cloak off her body and then proceeded to rip her leotard as well. Although, she had not been aware of the latter as she felt an incredible searing pain when he began to burn the mark of Scath onto her skin.

Once the day had finally come to an end, it no longer made a difference. Slade had delivered his message: Raven was destined to destroy the Earth. He had shown her all the destruction that she would soon cause and the image had haunted her every night until that day had finally arrived.

'So, overall not the best birthday,' thought Raven sardonically. Even now she was plagued with constant images of burning red skies, stone that had once been flesh, oceans of molten lava and her demon father hovering above it all. Even though she had defeated Trigon, his blood still coursed through her veins and she had not been allowed to forget that.

"Are you okay?"

She jumped. She had momentarily forgotten where she was. She turned to look at Robin, who was looking at her concernedly.

"Yeah," said Raven tiredly, "just thinking about my last birthday."

He instantly tensed. The hand on his lap balled into a tight fist.

'I guess he remembers,' thought Raven sarcastically. But how could he not? She had sensed that he felt an overwhelming guilt for not having been able to protect her. Although she did not blame him in the slightest. It was Robin that had saved her from falling to her death. She had also been half-naked.

Now that she thought about it, she was immensely grateful that Slade had not raped her. It would have been easy enough seeing as she had been unconscious at the time.

Raven shuddered at the thought. Robin seemed to notice. The hand that had been balled into a fist only a few seconds ago was now lying gently on top of hers. She looked up into his masked eyes.

"You shouldn't think about it, Raven," said Robin soothingly, "and I'm so sorry that I abandoned you."

Raven squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"You didn't abandon me. If you had, I wouldn't be here speaking to you right now. What happened, happened. Nothing can change that."

Robin nodded uncertainly, but then a huge grin formed on his face.

"Come on, let's go join the party! I think they're about to cut the cake!"

He jumped up excitedly and dragged Raven to the back garden.

As Harry's birthday dinner would have stretched the Burrow's kitchen to breaking point even before the arrival of Charlie, Remus, Tonks, and Hagrid, several tables were placed end to end in the garden. Fred and George bewitched a number of purple lanterns, all emblazoned with a large number 17, to hang midair over the guests.

Thanks to Raven, George's wound was neat and clean, but she was still not used to the dark hole in the side of his head, despite the twins' many jokes about it.

Hermione made purple and gold streamers erupt from the end of her wand and drape themselves artistically over the trees and bushes.

"Nice," said Ron, as with once final flourish of her wand, Hermione turned the leaves on the crabapple tree to gold. "You've really got an eye for this sort of thing."

"Thank you, Ron!" said Hermione, looking both pleases and a little confused. Raven turned away with a shake of her head.

'So obvious,' thought Raven.

"Out of the way, out of the way!" sang Mrs.Weasley, coming through the gate with Cyborg following behind her. He was wearing his chef hat and silly grin while carrying a giant, beach-ball size snitch. Seconds later, Raven realized it was the cake. When Cyborg placed it in the middle of the table, Harry said,

"That looks amazing you guys."

"Oh, it's nothing, dear," she said fondly.

"Yeah, no problem man," said Cyborg clapping Harry on the back with a huge smile on his face.

By seven o' clock all the guests had arrived, led into the house by Fred and George, who had waited for them at the end of the lane. Hagrid had honored the occasion by wearing his best, and horrible, hairy brown suit. Although Remus smiled as he shook hands with Harry, Raven thought he looked rather unhappy. It was all very odd; Tonks beside him, looked simply radiant.

"Happy birthday, Harry," she said hugging him tightly.

"Seventeen, eh!" said Hagrid as he accepted a bucket-sized glass of wine from Fred. "Six years ter the day since we met. Harry, d'yeh remember it?"

"Vaguely," said Harry, grinning up at him. "Didn't you smash down the front door, give Dudley a pig's tail, and tell me I was a wizard?"

"I forge' the details," Hagrid chortled. "All righ' Ron, Hermione?"

As Hagrid went over to talk to Ron and Hermione, Raven, Robin and Cyborg walked over to Harry.

"Happy birthday, Harry," they said happily.

Harry smiled. "Thanks you guys."

"I guess you've probably noticed that we haven't given you a present," said Raven with a small smile on her face.

"That's okay, I really don't mind -,"

"No it is not okay," said Cyborg mockingly, he seemed to be enjoying himself. "Since we didn't know what to get you, we decided to give you this."

Cyborg held out his arm: In the palm of his hand was a circular yellow device with a white 'T' in the center. Harry took it from his hand and looked at it curiously.

"That," said Robin "is a communicator. It's a communication device that we use to . . . well, communicate. We're giving you this incase you're ever in trouble and need our help. With this war you can never be sure. Anyway, all you have to do is press that red button on the side, hold it down and speak into it. Raven has also placed a spell on it which makes it resistant to magic."

Harry looked up with a big smile on his face.

"Thanks you guys."

"You're welcome and happy birthday, Harry," they said, for just a single moment, without a care in the world.

* * *

A/N: I decided to end this chapter on a happier note since the previous four were somewhat depressing. I already have 1/3 of chapter six done, so it should be up soon. I hope you liked this chapter and please leave a review. :) 


	5. The Wedding

Their moment of happiness came to an abrupt end.

Mrs.Weasley had been getting anxious and impatient while awaiting her husband's arrival. All of a sudden, a magnificent silver weasel arrived in the middle of the celebration, and announced in the voice of Mr.Weasley that he was being accompanied by the Minister of Magic.

Upon delivering its message, the weasel faded into silver vapors and Remus and Tonks left shortly thereafter without a proper explanation. But there was no time to discuss the matter. Just seconds later, Arthur appeared out of thin air at the gate accompanied by Rufus Scrimgeour, recognizable by his mane of grizzled gray hair.

The guests sat in silence as they watched the two draw nearer. The Minister's eyes quickly scanned the visitors and his eyes lingered over the five strange-looking teenagers. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but after a few seconds closed it as if he had changed his mind. Instead he turned his attention to the others.

He explained that he wished to speak privately with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The Golden Trio had reluctantly agreed.

Everyone was sitting anxiously in their seats, listening intently for a creak, indicating that the door had been opened and the conversation finished.

The wait had not been long: Scrimgeour appeared in the doorway and everyone watched him stomp angrily from the room and past the gate, until he could no longer be distinguished in the darkness.

Harry had explained that Scrimgeour had arrived to give them the items that Dumbledore had bestowed them in his will, while inquiring the secret meaning behind each item, although they knew of none.

After this, no questions were asked and the celebration continued as if there had been no interruption.

* * *

Today was Bill and Fleur's wedding day.

Raven was currently getting dressed.

At first, Raven had inwardly panicked upon realizing that she had no dress and no time to buy one. It would be unwise to wander the streets of Diagon Alley due to the dangerous nature of the present war.

When packing to come to the Burrow, she had not been very inclined to bring a suitcase, viewing it as a nuisance. Therefore, she stored her belongings in one of the gems on her belt. Said gem happened to be a sub pocket dimension, which opened a portal to a small and insignificant dimension in which she could store her possessions. It was much easier than carrying around tons of luggage.

She had looked through her clothes and was surprised to find a dress all the way at the back which had been left to collect dust. She had quickly dusted it off and put it on.

Raven nervously checked her reflection in the mirror and swiftly ran downstairs.

When she arrived in the back garden she took a step back, gazing in awe at the decorations.

The entrance to the marquee revealed rows and rows of golden chairs set on either side of a long purple carpet. The supporting poles were entwined with white and gold flowers. Fred and George had fastened an enormous bunch of golden balloons over the exact place where the groom and bride would become husband and wife. Outside, butterflies and bees were hovering lazily over the grass.

"When I get married," she heard Fred say, "I won't be bothering with any of this nonsense. You can all wear whatever you like and I'll put a Body-Bind Curse on Mum until it's all over."

"Wouldn't that give be a laugh," said Raven sarcastically, looking around at them all.

It had been decided that Harry would be in attendance at the wedding; however he had to be disguised as 'Cousin Barny' using Polyjuice Potion. So she assumed the extra red-head was Harry.

Their heads immediately snapped in her direction and upon laying their eyes on her, their eyes grew as large as saucers. Raven felt somewhat uncomfortable with their scrutiny.

"What?" she asked finally.

"You look amazing," said Fred and George simultaneously.

Raven fought very hard to keep the blush off her face but she knew she was fighting a losing battle.

She was wearing a simple black dress that stopped a few inches below the knees with silver flats. The top half slightly resembled a corset while the bottom flowed gracefully about her legs. The top was pitch-black as well but began to fade to dark velvet from the waist down. She had also lengthened her hair for the occasion and it now reached the small of her back, with the forelocks framing her pale face.

"Thanks," she said uncertainly. She could still feel their eyes on her and it was beginning to get annoying. All of a sudden, she sensed several new auras approaching and she assumed that the guests had arrived.

"Here come the guests," said Raven, relieved to find an excuse to drive the spotlight away from herself. And it worked. They all broke out of their stupor.

Brightly colored figures were appearing, one by one, out of nowhere at the distant boundary of the yard. Within minutes, procession had formed, which began to shake its way through the garden toward the marquee. Exotic flowers and bewitched birds fluttered on the witches' hats, while precious gems glittered from many of the wizard's cravats; a hum of excited chatter grew louder and louder, drowning the sound of the bees as the crowd approached the tent.

"Excellent, I think I see a few veela cousins," said George, craning his neck for a better look. "They'll need help understanding our English customs; I'll look after them . . . ."

"Not so fast, Your Holeyness," said Fred, and darting past the gaggle of middle-aged witches heading the procession, he said, "Here – permettez – moi to _assister vous_," to a pair of pretty French girls, who giggled and allowed him to escort them inside. George was left to attend to the middle-aged witches.

Raven shook her head with an amused smirk and wandered off in search of her friends.

She found them quickly, standing by the front door of the house, chatting happily. They had all dressed up for the wedding as well: Cyborg, Beast Boy and Robin were all wearing black tuxedos. The former two had also had spells placed upon them to temporarily alter their appearances. Cyborg was no longer half metal and Beast Boy now had normal skin coloring as well as light brown hair and dark blue eyes. Last but not least, Starfire was wearing an elegant pink dress that stopped a few inches above the floor to prevent it from getting soiled and white gloves that came up to the elbows. The dress was lightly dusted with glitter causing it to shimmer with the simplest movement. They all looked quite nice.

"Hey guys," said Raven.

They all turned to look at her and before she knew what was happening, she was being enveloped in one of Starfire's infamous bone-crushing hugs.

"Friend Raven, you look wonderful!" said Starfire cheerfully as she relinquished her tight embrace.

"Thanks Starfire," she said as she returned her smile, "so do you."

"Thank you Raven!"

Beast Boy coughed from behind her. She turned to face him. "You both look good too," she said amusedly.

"Hey!" Beast Boy said indignantly yet the side of his mouth was curled upward slightly.

"Let's get going," said Robin hurriedly, "I think the wedding's about to start."

"Yeah, let's go!" said Cyborg enthusiastically.

They made it just in time. Most of the guests were already in their allotted places when they entered the tent. They were quickly seated side by side in the second row.

A sense of jittery anticipation had filled the warm tent, the general murmuring broken by occasional spurts of boisterous laughter. Mr. and Mrs.Weasley strolled up the aisle, smiling and waving at relatives. Mrs.Weasley was wearing a brand-new set of amethyst colored robes with a matching hat.

A moment later Bill and Charlie stood up at the front of the marquee, both wearing dress robes, with large white robes in their buttonholes and it seemed that Bill had regrown his hair overnight. Fred wolf-whistled and there was an outbreak of giggling from the veela cousins. Then the crowd fell silent as music swelled from what seemed to be the golden balloons.

"Ooooh!" Raven heard someone shout, and swiveled around in her seat to look at the entrance.

Monsieur Delacour and Fleur were coming up the aisle, Fleur gliding, Monsieur Delacour bouncing and beaming. Fleur was wearing a very simple white dress and seemed to be emitting a strong, silvery glow. While her radiance, usually dimmed everyone else by comparison, today it beautified everybody it fell upon. The bridesmaids looked even prettier than usual. Once Fleur reached him, Bill did not look as though he had ever met Fenrir Greyback.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said a sing-song voice belonging to a tufty-haired wizard, standing in front of Bill and Fleur.

"Do you, William Arthur, take Fleur Isabelle . . . ?"

In the front row, Mrs.Weasley and Madame Delacour were both sobbing quietly into scraps of lace. Trumpet like sounds from the back of the marquee told everyone that Hagrid had taken out one of his own table-sized handkerchiefs.

". . . then I declare you bonded for life."

The tufty-haired wizard waved his wand high over the heads of Bill and Fleur and a shower of silver stars fell upon them, spiraling around their now entwined figures. As Fred and George led a round of applause, the golden balloons overhead burst. Birds of paradise and tiny golden bells flew and floated out of them, adding their songs and chimes to the din.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" called the tufty-haired wizard. "If you would please stand up!"

They all did so. He waved his wand again. The seats on which they had all been sitting rose gracefully into the air as the canvas walls of the marquee vanished, so that they stood beneath a canopy supported by golden poles, with a glorious view of the sunlit orchard and surrounding countryside. Next, a pool of molten gold spread from the center of the tent to form a gleaming dance floor; the hovering chairs grouped themselves around small, white-clothed tables, which all floated gracefully back to earth around it, and a golden-jacketed band trooped toward the podium.

Waiters popped up on all sides, some bearing silver trays of pumpkin juice, butterbeer, and firewhisky, others tottering piles of tarts and sandwiches.

As all this unfurled, Raven noticed that the newlyweds seemed to have a vanished amid the huge crowd.

"Come on let's get something to drink," said Robin.

All five teenagers ambled through the dancing couples, with a few stubbed toes along the way, until they finally found a waiter.

They all got butterbeers and began to stroll along the outer edges of the marquee, watching the dancing couples. Raven occasionally sipped her drink while watching the others enjoy themselves. One girl in particular stood out from the rest of the throng: The girl had straggly, waist-length, dirty-blond hair, very pale eyebrows and protuberant eyes that could currently not be seen since she had them closed. However, what made her stand out most was her apparel. She wore bright yellow robes, which she had accessorized with a large sunflower in her hair. Despite the brightness of the outfit, she did look quite pleasant. She was currently revolving on the spot, quite alone, while waving her arms.

'That must be the Luna Lovegood Hermione had told me about,' Raven thought. From what she had been told, she had easily deduced that both girls were complete opposites. A small smile made its way onto her face, as they reminded her of Starfire and herself: Friends, but as different as day or night.

Suddenly, she was overwhelmed by a sense of foreboding so strong it caused her tremendous physical pain. She bent down, a hand at her head and gritted her teeth as an onslaught of tumultuous images flickered before her eyes: Jets of color . . . several loud 'POPS' . . . frightened screams . . . masked figures . . . . Then it was over. She gasped loudly.

"Raven, are you okay?" asked Robin worriedly. He saw that she was in pain and he noticed the sudden panic that had arisen on her face.

Raven immediately straightened herself and grabbed a hold of Robin's arm. She knew that there must have been a look of panic written across her features, but she didn't care. She knew what was about to happen and it was imperative that they leave.

"Robin, we have to g-," but she was unable to finish her sentence because at that moment something large and silver came falling through the canopy over the dance floor. Graceful and gleaming, the lynx landed lightly in the middle of the astonished dancers. Heads turned, as those nearest it froze abruptly in mid-dance. Then the Patronus's mouth opened wide and it spoke in the loud, deep, slow voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"_The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming._"

* * *

A/N: I'm so sorry I took so long to submit this chapter! My computer still has a virus which has also been affecting my internet connection. I"m taking advantage of the opportunity to post it now. I already have the outline for chapter seven and I have already started it, so I'll try to get it up as soon as possible.

I hope you all had a Happy Christmas or whatever else you celebrate and a Happy New Year!

Don't forget to leave a review! ;)


	6. The Beginning

Heads were still turning toward the silver cat as it vanished. Silence spread in cold ripples from the place where the Patronus had landed. Then somebody screamed.

This broke Raven out of her stupor. She shook her head and noticed that she still had a firm grip on Robin's forearm. She began to pull his arm, urging him to budge.

"Come on Robin! We have to get out of here!" Raven shouted anxiously.

They had lost the others in the panicked crowd. Guests were sprinting in all directions, roughly pushing others aside, trying to leave as quickly as possible. Many were Disapparting on the spot; The protective enchantments on the Burrow had broken.

Raven maintained a firm hold on Robin's hand so that they wouldn't be seperated as they pushed through the throng. She began to shout out for the others, praying that she would find them soon. Raven saw masked and cloaked figures appearing in the crowd, wands aloft. Jets of color began flying in the air, indistinguishable in their intent. As they continued running, a streak flew over their heads, missing them by mere inches, whether a protective spell or something sinister was unknown.

Raven was growing more nervous as each second ticked by.

And then Beast Boy, Starfire, and Cyborg appeared before her. Raven immediately enveloped them all in a dome of black energy, which then dissolved into the ground and reappeared seconds later.

"Where are we?" asked Beast Boy curiously.

They were standing outside a small bookstore located on a vacant street with occasional passersby. It was surrounded by other little stores on either side. Raven looked around: The streetlamps flickered feebly and a thin, eerie mist clung to the earth. She also noticed that they were receiving strange looks from the few people that were currently wandering the street.

"I'm not sure. I was just in a hurry to get out of there and this," said Raven, gesturing to their surroundings, "is the first place that came to mind."

"Let's hurry and get inside," said Robin anxiously, glancing at either end of the street.

They pushed open the door and hurried on inside. The atmosphere inside the store was much warmer than the street on which it was found. Upon entering they were overwhelmed by the smell of coffee and paper. There were shelves upon shelves of books and small tables dispersed throughout the shop. However, it was completely empty, save for the cashier at the front desk.

They took a seat near the back of the store which was partially obscured by a large bookshelf.

"We need to decide what we're going to do now," said Robin, abandoning his anxiety and adopting his usual authorative tone.

"I believe it is time to go into hiding," said Raven solemnly. "The Minister has been killed and Voldemort has now taken over the Ministry." She spoke with a tone of finality. They could not delude themselves. This was the truth and they could not change it.

A heavy silence proceeded. Although it had long been predicted that the Dark Lord would inevitably gain control over the Ministry, now that it had finally come about they suddenly became aware of the vast dangers they would no doubt encounter. They also realized that there was a huge possibility that they may not live to see the end of this war . . . .

A bell clanged. They all jumped but quickly regained their composure when they realized that it was merely the bell above the door, signaling that someone had entered. They looked around just in time to see four burly men seat themselves at a table not far from their own. Raven immediately placed a spell around their table to prevent from being overheard.

"We also can't go back to the Tower because there's a chance that some of his goons will be there, waiting for us," said Cyborg as though there had been no interruption.

"But then where are we to go?" asked Starfire worriedly.

From the look on their faces it was apparent that they were all wondering the same thing.

"I don't know," said Robin, "but we're not leaving. We joined the Order to help in any way possible. And that's just what we're gonna do."

They all nodded.

Beast Boy suddenly jumped up in his seat with a huge grin on his face. "Do you guys remember when we were ambushed by the Brotherhood of Evil?" asked Beast Boy.

They were all taken aback by the question but nodded their heads affirmatively.

"Well, afterwards I went to the Titans Emergency Base," said Beast Boy excitedly, "and I'm wondering, is there one here in London?"

"You know," said Cyborg pensively, "I think there m-"

Suddenly, there was a flash of light and the table exploded with such tremendous force that they were all blasted out of their seats. Raven's back collided with the bookshelf and she felt a surge of pain rush up her spine. She groaned. Then she heard a horrible drawn out scream.

"Don't kill them!" she heard someone shout. "The Dark Lord wants them alive!"

Upon hearing these words, Raven immediately jumped to her feet with an orb of black energy around her hands. As she looked around for the source of the voice, she saw the cashier racing towards the door.

She turned around just in time: Had she not, she would have been struck by a jet of red light that had been intended for her. She quickly put up a shield in front of herself and watched as the spell connected. She looked up and saw one of the workmen pointing a wand at her. She also noticed that her friends were battling the others.

Raven turned her attention back to her opponent.

"Come on pretty little girl," he jeered maliciously, "come quietly and we'll think about not hurting you."

Raven clenched her fists and sent a powerful blast of black energy at the Death Eater, determined to wipe that smirk from his face. Unfortunately, he easily dodged the attack and fired off his own thereafter. She blocked it just as easily. This pattern continued: One of the pair would throw an attack only for the other to either block it or dodge it. However, this did not last long.

The Death Eater shot a hex at her and Raven just barely blocked it. But she was not quick enough to evade the curse that followed.

"_Crucio!"_

Raven did not notice the fact that her knees buckled beneath her and roughly collided with the ground. Nor that her fingernails were digging into her arms, leaving behind deep gashes. The only thing that registered in her mind was the pain, the unendurable agony. Every inch of her skin was being pierced by white-hot knives. As if that weren't enough, the knives twisted themselves inside the wounds. Her bones were on fire. She was being torn from the inside out. She desperately wanted it to end. She wanted Death to envelop her in its cold embrace . . . .

And then it was over.

The pain had suddenly disappeared but it had taken a great toll on her body. Her muscles ached; she couldn't move. Her throat ached and she realized that she must have been screaming. She also felt something warm trickling down her hands and upon looking down she saw that they were coated in crimson . . . her blood.

She heard laughter from above her head. Raven looked up into the face of her adversary. His black hair and mustache contrasted greatly against his pale skin. His features were arranged in a cruel leer. She felt the blood beneath her skin boiling with insurmountable rage.

"You know, you look so pretty when you're in pain," he said vindictively.

Rage spread through her veins. It was intoxicating. She shut her eyes tightly, frantically trying to bury it within the dark recesses of her mind. Desperately trying not to lose control.

'_Do it.'_

'No!'

'_Wipe that filthy smile off his face.'_

'I won't do it!'

The Death Eater began to taunt her. Stupid, stupid man . . . .

'_He deserves it.'_

'Shut up!'

Rage was slowly slipping through the bars of her cage.

'Why won't he shut up?!'

'_DO IT! NOW!'_

"SHUT UP!!"

A powerful blast of black energy exploded from her body. The Death Eater was forcefully thrown back and she heard a sickening crunch as his back collided with the distant wall.

Raven fought to remain conscious. She could not afford to faint right now. She slowly picked herself up off the ground and leaned against the bookshelf for support and brought a hand to her pounding head. She had strengthened the restraints on Rage's cage and that would keep her at bay for now, but she fully intended to meditate later. She looked up and saw that her friends had faired very well against the Death Eaters. Only one remained but he was quickly defeated upon being hit by one of Starfire's green bolts.

They had won.

"Are you alright?" she heard a voice ask from her right. She turned her head and saw Robin looking at her concernedly. "I heard you screaming and saw you thrashing on the floor. I'm so sorry I wasn't able to help."

"It's ok. I'm fine," said Raven hoarsely.

He did not look at all convinced but decided to drop it.

Cyborg had already gathered the unconscious Death Eaters and placed them in the center of the room after tying them together quite tightly with rope that he seemed to have conjured out of nowhere. He dusted his hands off and stepped back towards the others. They were all fine, having only sustained minor injuries. Beast Boy had a bloody lip, Cyborg had a few cuts and scratches to his armor, Starfire had a minor burn on her arm and Robin had a few cuts and bruises on his face.

"So, what are we going to do with them?" asked Beast Boy.

Raven looked around at the bookstore and it bore noticeable signs of the recent battle: The few tables lay bent and broken upon the floor and the chairs upturned, some of them missing a leg. Books lay scattered across the ground, one of the windows had been completely shattered, and the walls had cracks and holes where a stray curse had hit it. Some of the lights had also been broken and the store itself was considerably darker.

Raven spoke first

"First of all, I think we should clean up. I saw the cashier run out and he probably went to the fetch the authorities. If they return, we don't want to leave any evidence that a battle took place here."

They all agreed and quickly set to work.

Raven had had to perform quite a few spells to repair the items that the others could not, such as the walls, the chairs, the tables and the broken window. All the other items had been returned to their proper places. By the time they were done, you would never be able to guess that a fight had taken place within its confines.

However, Robin had remained next to the captives in case any of them awoke.

"Okay, I've decided that the only thing we can do is place them in the alley a few feet from here," began Robin, "If any stray Muggles wander into the store, the last thing we want is for them to find these Death Eaters."

Raven levitated the unconscious figures off the ground and through the open door, and swiftly placed them in the darkest corner of the alley located a few feet from the bookstore. She made sure that their bonds were secure, and then placed a few garbage cans in front of them as an extra precaution.

"So, where are we going now?" asked Raven.

"Oh yeah, before this whole battle started, I was gonna say that there's an Emergency Base here in Britain," said Cyborg, looking down at his robotic arm on which a map could be seen. "It's located several miles from here."

Raven glanced at the map and quickly enclosed them all in her black energy, and they immediately disappeared

They had reappeared in what appeared to be a dense forest. The trees surrounding them were several feet tall and prevented any moonlight from touching the forest floor. And just like the street they had just abandoned, a thin layer of fog clung to the earth here and the cold wind whipped fiercely against their faces.

"Lead the way Cyborg," said Raven, barely repressing a shudder.

They wandered through the woods for a few minutes before they had reached their destination. In front of them was a thick tree upon which a round metal door with the Titans' insignia was engraved. Right next to it, just barely distinguishable in the darkness, was a small rectangular key pad. Cyborg rapidly punched a few of the keys and the door opened swiftly. They went inside.

The inside was much bigger than you would guess upon first glance. The room was laid out somewhat like the Tower's living room, yet it was less furnished. A small, round couch lay at the far end, along with a coffee table and a large monitor with bunk beds on either side of the wall.

"So what do we do now?" asked Beast Boy, collapsing exhaustedly onto the sofa.

"We wait," said Robin.

* * *

A/N: I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to leave a review. I'll try to get the next one up as soon as I can but I return to school tomorrow and I have Finals to study for.

Don't forget to review! ;)


	7. What Do We Do Now?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Teen Titans or Harry Potter. Just the plot of this story.

* * *

A heavy silence clung to the air. None of them had spoken for several minutes, each absorbed in their own thoughts as they waited. Raven had quickly healed her wounds and proceeded to heal the others as well. As she went about sealing lacerations and other such injuries, she was very grateful that none of them had been gravely injured.

They had long since changed into their regular attire and were now lounging on the couch as they awaited word from the Order.

They could hardly believe that just a few hours ago, they had been unexpectedly attacked by a group of Death Eaters. They had only sustained minor injuries in the subsequent battle but Raven found herself wondering, what if they had been killed? In the ensuing chaos it was highly possible. Curses had been flying in every which direction and all it would have taken was a well aimed 'Avada Kedavra' and they would have instantly dropped dead. She repressed a shudder at the thought. She looked at the people around her. Could she bare it if any of them died? She highly doubted it. This group of people had done so much for her. They had essentially given her a second chance at life and she would die before she allowed any harm to come to them.

To distract herself from such morbid thoughts, she pulled out a book as if out of thin air and began to skim through its pages. It was a thick tome which contained an extensive list of defensive enchantments, their purpose and how to perform them efficiently. Hermione had loaned it to her but she had never gotten the opportunity to return it to her. As she flipped through the pages, certain spells caught her attention and she briefly paused to read the accompanying passage before resuming her skimming. Once she had reached the end of the book, she set it aside and began to pace around the length of the base while chanting under her breath. The others gazed at her curiously but she merely shook her head as she continued. She was placing several protective spells around the area to prevent any "unwanted guests" from discovering their location, such as an Anti-Intruder and Anti-Apparation Jinx. These were just basic spells that the average witch or wizard would place on their home to protect against intruders. She decided to place a few of her own spells on the base as an extra precaution. Once this was done, she reclaimed her seat on the couch and continued to search through the book for any other spells that she may have missed.

When she felt a cramp forming in her neck, she took a brief pause from her search and looked at the others: Robin was fiddling with his communicator, Beast Boy was tapping his foot impatiently against the floor with his arms crossed over his chest, Starfire was playing with a lock of her hair and Cyborg was staring blankly at the empty monitor. As she watched them, she could sense their anxiety. They were obviously very worried about the others. She was as well, but she tried not to be. 'They're probably fine. There's nothing to worry about.' She told herself this repeatedly yet there was no way that she could know for sure and it was this, more than anything else that was driving her insane.

As she continued to survey them, another thought came into her mind: After they had been blasted apart at the bookstore, she had clearly heard one of the Death Eaters say "Don't kill them! The Dark Lord wants them alive!" The Death Eaters had not been ordered to eliminate the Titans. Their orders were to simply incapacitate them and bring them to the Dark Lord. But why would Voldemort want them captured? Surely he didn't think that they would willingly join him if given the choice. Then again, who said they would have a choice in the matter? Remus had told her of a curse that was designed to give the caster complete control over the victim. It gave him complete control over the mind of the victim and as a result, their body. They would have no choice than to do the bidding of the caster. He told her it was called the Imperius Curse. Raven had been taught Latin on Azarath at an early age and thus had known the purpose of the spell before he had even told her. "Imperium" meant "power to rule, command or control." The name was pretty self-explanatory. It was also one of the three "Unforgivable Curses." Once again, the name was pretty much self-explanatory. The three curses were the Killing Curse, the Imperius Curse and the Cruciatus Curse. If she was correct, she had experienced the latter not a few hours ago. She vividly recalled the pain as if of burning knives piercing the skin and a sudden powerful desire to die. She repressed a shudder. Use of any of the "Unforgivable Curses" on another human being was said to result in immediate imprisonment.

Anyway, back to Voldemort. If he really wanted the Titans on his side, this could easily be accomplished with a simple word and a flick of his wrist, whether they wanted to or not. However, there was also the possibility that he simply wished to torture them for information. This reason seemed more likely. How long would it take for them to squeal while subjugated to the agony that was the Cruciatus Curse? Not very long if the events of a few hours ago were anything to go by. She was the only member of the group to have experienced its wrath and she desperately hoped that it stayed that way.

Suddenly, she was broken out of her thoughts as the same silver cat from the wedding seemed to materialize on top of the coffee table. They all started.

"_Everyone safe. Go into hiding. Do not reply."_

Just as quickly as it had arrived, it was now gone. They all let out a sigh of relief and slumped back in their seats.

"So what do we do now?" asked Beast Boy, breaking the silence.

"I guess we do what Kingsley said," said Robin solemnly. "Go into hiding and help any way we can. This means protecting innocent people from getting hurt. But we also have to make sure that the Death Eaters don't find us. I've been thinking about what happened at the bookstore. I heard one of them say that You-Know-Who wanted us alive. They were trying to capture us."

It took a moment for this to sink it but once it did they all seemed to realize how much danger they were in.

"I guess we should lay low for a while and keep our ears open for any news," said Cyborg seriously.

"Cyborg is right," said Raven. "Remember, Kingsley also said that the Minister has been murdered and You-Know-Who has taken over. This makes the situation all the more dangerous."

"But we still haven't figured out how those Death Eaters found us so fast," said Beast Boy exasperatedly.

"Yeah, that too," said Robin. He put his hand under his chin and he appeared to be thinking hard. "We also have to figure out how those Death Eaters found us so we can make sure they don't find us again."

"Perhaps they have placed some sort of tracking device on us," said Starfire worriedly.

Raven began to contemplate this idea. It was very possible, although it was probably some sort of spell rather than a technological device.

"It's possible," said Raven, "But this is wizards we're dealing with. I've only read of a couple of wizarding spells but who's to say there isn't one specifically designed for tracking people. If we are being tracked, it's most likely by some sort of spell rather than an actual device. With all the confusion at the wedding, they easily could have done so without our noticing."

"Well that's just great," said Beast Boy frustrated as he threw his arms in the air. "We're on the run from some psychos with wands but they could 'pop' right here at any minute."

"I've placed an Anti-Apparation Jinx on the base to prevent Death Eaters from just 'popping' in whenever they like," said Raven. "I've also placed a few other spells as an extra precaution."

"Okay, that's taken care of. But I have another question: Since when have we started calling ol' snake face 'You-Know-Who' anyway?" asked Beast Boy suddenly.

Raven shrugged. "I think it would be for the best. Things have gotten really dangerous and we don't want to take any chances."

They all nodded in agreement.

"Well that settles it then: The Teen Titans are officially in hiding. Wow, I didn't think I would every say that, but there you go," said Robin jokingly, trying to lighten up the mood.

Starfire giggled at this. It worked a little, but it didn't relieve the tension in the room.

"What do we have planned for tomorrow," asked Cyborg as he placed his legs on the coffee table and crossed his arms behind his head.

"Let's get a good night's sleep and get up early for some combat practice," said Robin in leader mode. "We're gonna need it as time goes by. After that, we'll just have to wait and see."

They nodded once again and made their way off the couch, towards the bunks on the opposite sides of the room. Starfire and Raven took the two bunks on the right while the boys took the three on the left. Robin clapped his hands twice and the light quickly dimmed.

"Goodnight," said Robin tiredly.

"Goodnight," they replied in unison.

Not even five minutes later, Raven could hear the boys' snores from across the room. She couldn't help but smile lightly. However, she herself had a hard time falling asleep. This was not unusual. She usually only managed to get about three hours of sleep regularly for whatever reason and she merely lay on her back, staring blankly at the ceiling without really seeing it. The future did not seem bright right now. In fact, things would probably only get worse in the coming days but she could only hope that things might also get better.

* * *

A/N: I'm back! I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out but I was suffering from a mild case of Writer's Block. It really sucks. I also apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I already have a few things planned but I'm mostly making this story up as I go, so I'm open to any suggestions. I hope you liked it and please leave a review. They really motivate me. ;)


	8. Lost

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. I do not own Teen Titans or Harry Potter. Just the plot of this one story.

* * *

_The room spoke of great wealth yet could not be seen clearly due to the encumbering darkness. A dim fire burned in the grate, its flames flickering feebly. Raven stood pressed against the wall, trying desperately to remain hidden. Before her, there was what appeared to be an unconscious human figure. As she continued to watch, the figure then began to elicit horrible cries of sheer agony and writhe upon the floor. Raven immediately prepared herself for whatever graphic display might be viewed. _

_After what seemed to be an eternity, he finally stopped. He curled into a ball as his body began to tremble with the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse. Raven then heard a high, cold voice through the blackness which made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. _

"_You have failed me again, Mulciber. How difficult can it be to capture five teenagers? Lord Voldemort is not sure he will forgive this time."_

"_I'm s-sorry, m-my Lord," he pleaded. "I ask f-for forgiveness. They are m-more powerful than they s-seem."_

"_Crucio!"_

_The flames suddenly reared high and Raven gasped as she gazed upon the face of Lord Voldemort._

Raven awoke with a startled gasp as she shot forward in her bed. She looked around frantically, expecting to find the Dark Lord in the room, only to be greeted by the sound of her friends' snores. She suddenly realized where she was and brought one trembling hand to her forehead as she let out a small sigh of relief.

She had had a nightmare about the dark wizard, Lord Voldemort. However, as she thought about it, she realized that it must have been a vision. In it, the Dark Lord had been torturing one of his Death Eaters. Apparently, he was furious that the Titan's had escaped. She shuddered slightly as she recalled the inhuman screams emitting from the heap upon the floor.

She looked up at the room once again and was relieved that she hadn't woken the others. She glanced at the clock on the far wall, and was dismayed to discover that it was only half past four.

Just then, she realized that she was soaked in a cold sweat and her leotard was clinging to her frame more so than usual. She quickly pushed off the sheets and swung her legs across the edge of the bed. She wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon so she decided to get ready for the day ahead.

About an hour later, Raven had showered and dressed in a fresh uniform. The others were still sleeping so she made her way over to the couch, grabbed her book and began to read. This time, she was reading, "The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts." As the title indicated, it spoke of the coming into and fall from power of several dark wizards. Raven immediately flipped to the section about Voldemort, who had an entire chapter to himself:

"Of the many dark wizards that have walked the Earth, Lord Voldemort is perhaps the worst of them all. In fact, the Dark Lord is considered to have been the evilest wizard for over a century. Lord Voldemort and his faithful band of followers known as Death Eaters began their rise to power in the 1970s. It was a dark time in the Wizarding World for many. Some joined him willingly, others out of fear and coercion and those who dared to defy him usually wound up dead. The Dark Lord and his followers conjured such fear among the populous that many feared to speak his name, instead referring to him as 'You-Know-Who' or 'He-Must-Be-Named.'"

As Raven continued to read, she became so engrossed in the book that she did not notice as the others stirred and began to rise from their beds.

"Hey Rae, whatcha doing?" asked Cyborg as he tried to stifle a huge yawn.

Raven jumped slightly and threw an irritated glance in his direction before returning to her book.

"Reading," she muttered.

By the time Raven had reached the end of the chapter, the others had all showered and dressed. They huddled around the couch as Cyborg reached for the remote and turned on the television. He immediately flipped to the news.

"A mother and child were found dead in their home just yesterday evening," said the reporter. "However, police reports say that the mother and daughter may have been dead for more than three days for the bodies had already begun to rot. Let's take it over to Joe, the Chief of Police."

"Thanks Chuck. Well, around mid-day, we received a call from a woman whose identity shall remain confidential. She informed us that she had been knocking on her neighbor's door for several minutes with no reply. She simply figured that they must have gone out for the evening but noticed the car in the parking lot. She retrieved a spare key which the mother had given her prior and when she went inside, she found the bodies lying in the living room. The woman ran screaming from the house and immediately contacted the police."

"Thanks Joe. Now we'll switch it over to Dr. Collins with the report on the bodies."

"Despite being dead, the bodies appeared to be in perfect health," said one of the doctors. "There is no evidence of murder whatsoever."

"Thank you, doctor. Reports continue to come in, but as of late, there is no evidence of foul play. Moving on -"

Raven snatched the remote from Cyborg's hand and quickly shut off the television.

"We don't need to hear anything else to know that Death Eaters are behind this," she said angrily.

"What do you mean, friend Raven," asked Starfire worriedly.

"It's the Killing Curse," said Raven. "The Killing Curse leaves no mark on the victim. The doctor said the bodies were in perfect health. We can only assume that they were killed by Death Eaters."

A pronounced silence followed this statement.

"And this is only the beginning," said Raven breaking the silence. "As the days go by, things will continue to get worse."

"Not if we have anything to say about it," said Robin determinedly. "This is exactly what Kingsley was talking about: Innocent people are being killed in a war they don't even know about! And it's our job to help any way we can. Even if we only manage to save a few, it's better than saving none at all."

"Amen to that," said Beast Boy.

The others nodded.

"Come on, let's go to the gym and start combat practice," said Robin with a wave of his hand.

They all got up off the couch and began to make their way to the gym.

* * *

The gym here was nowhere near as large as the one back at the Tower, but it was good enough. The group immediately separated and began to practice: Robin and Starfire were working on their aim, Cyborg on his strength, and Beast Boy on his speed. Raven however, was working on her concentration. She was levitating a foot off the ground in a lotus position while lifting random items from their place, and then setting them down. All of these were exercises vital to their particular strengths.

She continued this pattern for several minutes as the others continued to practice as well. However, she quickly grew tired of this and began to think of other ways to strengthen her powers. In the end, she decided to check what was happening at Titans Tower through astral projection. She repositioned herself and began to chant her magic words:

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

Suddenly, she was flying through the air and the area around her was simply a blur of colors as she sped past. After a few seconds, she was hovering in front of Titans Tower. Nothing appeared to have changed but she proceeded to enter. There was no one in the living room so she continued to fly through the rest of the Tower: The rooms were empty and just as they had been when their occupants had last stepped foot in them. Everything appeared untouched as she returned to the living room. She looked at the room more closely this time, inspecting every tiny detail but still found nothing. She was about to give up until something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye: The tiny camera in the corner was broken.

'How did I not notice that,' she asked herself as she moved closer to inspect it.

'Oh this was definitely done by wizards," she thought. 'Only a Severing Charm could cut a wire that precisely.'

Sure enough, when she went down to the main entrance, she found a pair of hooded figures by the door. But she immediately noticed that there was something strange about them. First of all, they were hovering a few inches above the ground and the air around them was bitingly cold. A thin mist seemed to follow their every movement. They seemed to suck hope and happiness out of the air around them and she felt herself growing weary. All she could see of them was a gray hand protruding from the depths of the cloak which had the appearance of something that has decayed underwater.

Suddenly, one of the figures turned to look at her as if it could see her there and she gasped at what she saw.

Raven gasped as she found herself once more in her physical body and felt a sharp pain shoot up her spine as her backside connected with the rough floor. She let out a groan as she began to rub her aching bum.

"What happened, Raven?" asked Robin seemingly out of nowhere with hand extended. Raven gratefully took it and not soon after, the others were there as well.

"I just checked the Tower," she said as she pulled herself up. "Death Eaters have been in there and there are also two Dementors positioned at the entrance."

The others paled at this.

"Are you sure," asked Cyborg nervously.

"Unfortunately, yes. They were hovering a few inches above the ground and I saw one of its hands."

"But can't wizards fly?" asked Beast Boy. "I mean Vol –"

"NO!" screamed Raven frantically.

Beast Boy jumped. "What?!"

"Don't say his name!"

"Oh, sorry," said Beast Boy nervously but quickly continued. "I'm just saying: You-Know-Who can fly. Can't all wizards fly?"

"I don't think so," said Raven contemplatively. "Everyone seemed surprised when they found out Voldemort could fly, so I'm guessing it's not a usual occurrence even in the Wizarding World."

"So that means those were Dementors you saw," said Cyborg.

"It appears so," said Starfire worriedly.

"Let's just hope they don't decide to go wandering into Jump City," said Raven. "Although the people won't be able to see them, the last thing we need is for this war to spread to the entire globe."

"Ditto," said Beast Boy.

* * *

They continued training for a few more minutes before returning to the living room, where they plopped down onto the couch exhaustedly. What followed was a long, tranquil silence. Raven noticed how these peaceful moments began to dwindle as the days passed. But after a few more minutes, Cyborg decided to break the silence.

"Okay y'all," he said tiredly, "We already know what's goin' on in the normal world but how are we gonna find out what's happening in the Wizarding one?"

"There's only thing one thing we can do," said Robin.

The others stiffened, as if they knew what was to come.

"One of us is gonna have to leave the Base and get a hold of a _Daily Prophet._"

Yet another thick silence fell upon the group: Leaving the Base would be a great risk to take, especially since they were being targeted by a psychotic wizard and his followers. There was a huge chance that they might be caught. However, no more than one person could go for it would raise suspicion if _five teenagers_ wandered into the Leaky Cauldron. Therefore, only one person could go. But if they were caught, they would be horribly outnumbered. Even if they managed to get a hold of a _Daily Prophet _without getting caught, there was also the possibility that they may be followed.

Despite all this, _someone _had to go if they were to find out what was happening in the Wizarding World. But who?

"I'll go," said Raven.

* * *

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 08. Please leave a review, they really motivate me to keep writing. ;)

The information about Voldemort was taken from Mugglenet. I encourage you to check it out.


	9. Dark New Day

A/N: I AM SO SORRY! I have probably said this before, but high school has been hectic. The PSAT's are no joke. Finally, after months of waiting, here is chapter nine. I will try to have the next one out soon but I cannot make any promises. I hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer: You know the drill.**

* * *

Raven stood gazing at her reflection in the mirror. A pair of icy blue eyes stared back at her as she examined the ebony curls which cascaded down her shoulders. Her eyes were drawn to the space between her eyebrows and she thought she looked quite odd without her chakra.

Raven had altered her appearance so as to enter Diagon Alley without arousing suspicion. She had considered simply casting a spell to make herself invisible but there was too much of a risk that she might bump into someone and thus give herself away. Her once short violet hair was now jet-black and reached the small of her back, as well as a pair of clear blue eyes in place of their usual violet. Most importantly, she had cast a Glamour to conceal the chakra on her forehead, which would have immediately given her away. She was also wearing a pair of black wizard's robes she had conjured.

Once satisfied with her modifications, she turned away from the mirror and quickly exited the bathroom, while trying not to trip on the hem of her robes. When she arrived at the main entrance, it was to find the rest of the team there waiting for her. As she entered the room, she immediately sensed their anxiety coming off of them in waves. She could not deny her own apprehension yet, as always, she remained impassive.

"There's no need to worry," said Raven monotonously. "I'll go in and come right back out as soon as I get the _Prophet _in my hand."

"Are you sure you want to do this Raven?" asked Robin worriedly.

"Yes, I'm sure," said Raven determinedly. She walked to stand in front of the door and took one last glance at her teammates.

"I'll be back soon."

The doors opened suddenly and she stepped forth into the cool morning air. Once outside, she was greeted by the soft twittering of birds and the slight crunch of autumn leaves beneath her feet. The wind whistled slightly through the clearing as Raven carefully examined her surroundings before quickly teleporting to London.

When she next reappeared, she had arrived in an alleyway, just a few blocks from Charing Cross Road. She looked all around and immediately began making her way to the pub. The weather here was quite dismal: The sky was dominated by great gray storm clouds, completely obscuring the sun from view, and a thin mist clung to the ground. There seemed to be an air of bleakness and hopelessness about. As a matter of fact, the people on the street did not even give her so much as a second glance. As she walked, the cold air blew harshly against her face and stung her eyes. It also succeeded in sending her hair in every which direction. She huffed in annoyance as she pushed the bothersome strands from her face.

Not soon after, she was standing in front of the Leaky Cauldron. It was a grubby-looking pub bordered on either side by a large bookstore and a record store. Many would have missed it in passing. Only a sharp eye could spot the structure located in between. She looked around and noticed that none but herself could see the building. She pushed the door open and heard a gentle chime as she quickly crossed the threshold.

The pub was almost completely empty. The place was dark and shabby; the only source of illumination came from the few candles hovering in the air. The tables stood gleaming in the dim candle light and many of the chairs had not been removed from their place on top of the tables. The building had obviously not been occupied for quite some time, although she did spot a group of wizards whispering fiercely in one of the many dark corners. The bartender looked up from his place behind the counter and immediately perked up at the sight of her. He began to retrieve a glass from the cabinets but Raven simply waved him off.

"I'm just passing through," Raven deadpanned.

His smile faltered and he sighed as he returned the glass to its proper place.

Raven navigated her way through the many tables while ignoring the catcalls and jeers of the few drunken wizards from a distant corner.

"Oy, you!" called one of the wizards. She threw him a glare worthy of her demonic heritage and he shrunk back into the shadows like a measly rat.

She continued on her way and she now stood in front of a solid brick wall. Once again, she looked all around her to ensure that no one was watching as she swiftly phased through the wall. As she did so, she let out a small groan.

'All this Death Eater business is making me paranoid,' she thought sardonically.

On the other side was a twisted, cobbled street, bordered by various quaint-looking stores. However, the once bustling streets were now desolate and devoid of human life save for a few harried-looking wizards. Many store windows were boarded up and shards of glass and other debris littered the streets. She frowned slightly and began to walk down the street, in search of a newspaper stand or something of the like. She had walked past many interesting stores. The Magical Menagerie was filled with both magic and non-magical creatures. She smiled lightly as she spotted a large black raven sitting atop its cage. There was also "Quality Quidditch Supplies", "Eeylop's Owl Emporium" and many other stores. But when she spotted "Flourish and Blotts", she was greatly tempted to take a quick look around but immediately pushed the notion aside and focused on the task at hand. Although, she made a note to come back here sometime in the near future before such missions became too dangerous to undertake.

At the far end of the street, she spotted a huge marble building which easily dwarfed the surrounding shops. She assumed this was Gringotts, the wizard bank.

As she continued to wander through the empty streets, she could see no sign of a _Daily Prophet._

"Hey miss! Lookin' to buy somefin'?"

Raven started slightly and turned around to see a squat man standing behind a raggedy counter. For a moment, she had thought that he was simply a pile of rags. He looked familiar. As she approached him, she suddenly realized that she was looking at Mundungus Fletcher. She scrunched her face slightly as the smell of stale tobacco smoke reached her nose.

"Yes," said Raven, imitating a British accent. "I am looking for a copy of the _Daily Prophet_."

"Well, you're in luck miss!" Mundungus said excitedly. As if out of nowhere, he extracted a copy of the Wizarding newspaper. "This 'ere's me last copy."

"I'll take it," said Raven, "How much is it?"

"Four knuts," he said.

Raven fished around in her pocket before she pulled out four tiny bronze coins. She dropped them into Mundungus' outstretched hand and quickly snatched the paper from his grasp, in case the little bugger suddenly decided he wanted to keep it.

"'Ey, you look familiar. 'Ave we met?" he asked curiously.

Raven tensed slightly although her face remained impassive.

"No, sir. I'm afraid not," she said with a small smile on her face. He returned the gesture.

"Ah, that's too bad, then. Take care, luv."

"Thank you, likewise."

She let out a small sigh of relief as she began to make her way back to the Leaky Cauldron; she did not even glance at the headline on the paper as she stuffed it into her pocket. She cleaned her hand on her robe where Dung had accidently touched her. She thought the man a spineless coward since he had abandoned Mad-Eye in battle and left him to die. At the hands of the Dark Lord himself no less. The man was nothing but a common crook. Although she knew that Dung's knowledge of the criminal underground could greatly benefit the Order, fraternization with a man of his character could also prove to be their downfall. He would hand them all over to Voldemort in a heartbeat given the proper persuasion…and the right amount of money. Hopefully the others were aware of this and had not entrusted him with more than vital information.

When she returned to the brick wall, she swiftly phased through and continued on her way. She did not spare the room a glance as she pushed past the door and walked down the busy London streets.

She found a small alley not a few blocks away and once concealed in its shadows, she immediately teleported back to the Titans Emergency Base.

She did not stop to admire the beautiful scenery around her, as she might normally have done, and sprinted towards the Base. She knocked lightly and in a particular order that they had agreed upon the night before, so as to easily identify one another. If they were indeed found by Death Eaters, she highly doubted that they would bother knocking but it was an extra precaution. Almost immediately, she was greeted by the other Titans. Before she knew what was happening, she was suddenly inside the base, enveloped in one of Starfire's bone crushing hugs.

"Oh! Friend Raven you are safe! Thank X'hal," she said happily.

Raven's face began to take on a slight bluish hue.

"Uh, Star, I don't think she can breathe," said Robin amusedly.

"Oh, sorry Friend Raven," said Starfire apologetically.

After several agonizing seconds, Starfire released her hold on the sorceress and Raven coughed slightly as she gratefully took in great gulpfuls of air.

Raven bit her lip to keep from uttering some sarcastic comment. "It's okay, Starfire," she said as she rubbed her arm.

"Well, did you get it?" asked Beast Boy eagerly.

"Of course," said an annoyed Raven. "I told you I would."

"Booyah!" shouted Cyborg. Raven winced.

The group plopped down onto the couch and waited anxiously as Raven extracted the newspaper from the pocket of her robe. She smoothed it out and stared at the front page. Her lips pursed as she looked at the headline.

"I don't think you'll like this," said Raven.

There on the front page, quite clearly, was a picture of the Boy-Who-Lived with his messy black hair and bright green eyes hidden behind a pair of spectacles. Beneath this was the title in bold letters:

"WANTED FOR QUESTIONING ABOUT THE DEATH OF ALBUS DUMBLEDORE."

"What?!" shouted Robin angrily.

Robin made to grab the paper but Raven held it from him because he looked as if he wanted nothing more than to rip it into a million tiny pieces. She flipped to the second page and quickly skimmed the corresponding article. Sure enough, Harry was to be brought in for questioning concerning the untimely demise of the elderly Headmaster, though she questioned the validity of this claim. This was probably just the Death Eaters' way of capturing Harry Potter that much sooner: Have others do the dirty work for them. Although many would not see it for what it was.

"It says here," began Raven seriously, "that if he is spotted, Harry is to be brought in for immediate questioning. Though you've probably guessed that that's just an excuse to go after him."

"Figures," said Beast Boy grumpily.

"Is there nothing we can do?" asked Starfire desperately.

"I'm afraid not," said Raven solemnly.

"Anything else?" asked Robin.

Raven flipped through the pages, pausing every minute or so. Her lips pursed whenever she came upon something particularly unpleasant. She began to twist her finger around a lock of her black hair.

"Well," said Raven after several minutes, "Attendance to Hogwarts is now compulsory and there have been a few changes in staff."

"Such as?" asked Cyborg.

"Well, Snape is the headmaster for one thing," she said calmly, as if she had just declared that it was raining outside.

"That can't be good," said Beast Boy. "Isn't he that guy who killed Dumbledore or something?"

"Yup," answered Cyborg.

"How could they make him headmaster of a school?! Filled with children?!" shouted Robin angrily.

"Hmm, this should get you," continued Raven. "Muggle-borns are being rounded up. Here's what the article says."

"'Muggle-born Register. The Ministry of Magic is undertaking a survey of so called "Muggle-borns," the better to understand how they came to possess magical secrets.

Recent research undertaken by the Department of Mysteries reveals that magic can only be passed from person to person when Wizards reproduce. Where no proven Wizarding ancestry exists, therefore, the so-called Muggle-born is likely to have obtained magical power by theft or force.

The Ministry of Magic is determined to root out such usurpers of magical power, and to this end has issued an invitation to every so-called Muggle-born to present themselves for interview by the newly appointed Muggle-born Registration Commission.'"

"Is it just me or does this sound like the Holocaust all over again?" asked Beast Boy with his arms crossed.

"What is the Holocaust?" asked Starfire curiously.

"It's when Jews were persecuted and sent to concentration camps where they were brutally tortured and killed," said Robin seriously.

"How horrible!" gasped Starfire.

"I know," said Robin angrily.

"Uh oh." Raven eyes widened as she read the next article.

"What is it?" asked Robin urgently.

Raven's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as she handed Robin the paper. "See for yourself," she muttered angrily. "But do try not to rip it."

The others leaned in further to read over Robin's shoulder and their eyes widened at the title:

"TEEN TITANS: HEROES OR VILLAINS?"

"What -?!" started Beast Boy angrily but was cut off at a wave of Robin's hand.

"Here, I'll read it," said Robin with furrowed eyebrows.

"'A group of super-powered teenagers known as the _Teen Titans_ are currently on the loose. It is the view of the Ministry that these 'Titans' are in league with Harry Potter and are actively assisting him to evade capture. Pictures of the Titans can be found below. Their names are Robin, Raven, Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg. Should they be spotted, they are to be apprehended and brought in immediately for questioning as to the whereabouts of Harry Potter. These individuals are to be approached with extreme caution and if possible, a simple Stunning Spell should suffice. Otherwise, contact of the Ministry is advised.'"

There was a thick tension in the room, which was broken as Beast Boy - who had had been sliding steadily forward in his seat - fell onto the floor with a loud groan.

"Oww," he moaned dramatically. He picked himself off the ground and sat back in his seat, all the while rubbing his aching backside. Once the pain had faded slightly, he suddenly perked up.

"Cool!" said Beast Boy excitedly. "We're fugitives!"

The others threw him heated glares and he immediately fell silent as he shrunk into his seat. He began to twiddle his fingers nervously and apologized in a meek voice.

"Sorry."

"The grass stain's got a point though," pointed out Cyborg.

"Yeah!" Beast Boy agreed happily, seemingly oblivious to Cyborg's insult. "Wait…hey!"

"Yes he is," said Raven monotonously as she took the paper from the Boy Wonder, carefully folded it and returned it to the pocket of her robe. "As much as I hate to admit it. This calls for careful planning. Whatever we're going to do, we should be more careful."

"Yeah," said Robin thoughtfully, "Those pictures also make it more difficult for us to move out in the open. I'm surprised you came back in one piece, Raven. Did anyone recognize you?"

"Just Mundungus, he's the one that sold me the newspaper," she replied coolly. Their eyes widened at this bit of news and she quickly went on. "Don't worry. He just said I looked familiar but that was all."

They sighed in relief, but their relief was short-lived.

"Oh, friends," said Starfire worriedly. "What are we to do?"

"I don't know, Star," said Robin crest-fallen as he buried his head in his hands, "I honestly don't know. We'll just have to do what Raven said and plan more carefully. And keep training of course. Goodness knows we'll need it."

"Oh, by the way," said Raven suddenly. "The Dark Lord's name is Tabooed."

"Uh…huh?" asked Beast Boy stupidly. The others gave her curious looks as well. Raven sighed slightly in annoyance.

"His name is jinxed," said Raven knowledgeably. "Speaking his name aloud makes the speaker instantly trackable. It reveals their location to the Snatchers, whose job it is to round up any and all runaways. I'm not sure how it works exactly but you get the gist of it."

"Just because you say his name?!" asked Beast Boy, shocked. Raven nodded.

"How do you know?" asked Robin curiously. Raven gestured towards the newspaper in her pocket.

"It was stated in a small section on the page. Barely noticeable though," said Raven in her usual monotone. "It's called a Taboo. No one is to speak his name aloud unless they wish to be caught."

"That's how they found us in London!" said Robin suddenly. Once again, Raven nodded her head in affirmation.

"I expect this is merely a ruse to track down members of the Order, seeing as they were the only ones who dared speak his name," said Raven. "Furthermore, many people are bound to have gone into hiding by this time and the chance that they know of the Taboo is very scarce. Much easier to find them this way."

"Well, this really sucks," said Beast Boy sourly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I gotta agree with you there," said Cyborg.

They sat in silence for several more minutes, each lost in his or her thoughts. Raven sighed and brought a hand to her pounding temple. She knew better than to ask how things could possibly get any worse, for she knew better than anyone that Fate had a tendency to be rather cruel. According to Murphy's Law, if anything could go wrong, it would. This seemed to be the case lately. Not only were they on the run from the Death Eaters, but they were also sought after by the magical government. This would make it all the more difficult to evade capture both by the Dark Lord and the Ministry. Although they were now essentially the same.

Robin then began to speak on a sudden inspiration.

"Let's call Harry and see how he's doing," said Robin as he pulled his communicator from the belt around his waist. "Might as well do what the Ministry thinks we're doing. Hopefully they were able to take this along with them."


	10. Deep Into That Darkness Peering

Robin flipped the lid on his communicator and began to speak into it as he held down the red button on the side.

"Robin calling Harry, is anyone there?"

No answer. Several more minutes had passed without reply. Robin's brows furrowed slightly as he chewed nervously on his lower lip.

"Maybe they didn't have time to take it with them," suggested Beast Boy tiredly from his place on the couch, idly flipping through the channels.

"Maybe," agreed Robin with a nod. "I'll try calling in later -"

He cut off suddenly as Harry's bespectacled face appeared on the miniscule screen. He greeted the Boy Wonder with a weary smile.

"Hey Robin," he said with a wave of his hand. The others heard his voice and immediately huddled in a circle around their leader.

"Hey Harry," Robin said cheerfully. "How are you? And Ron and Hermione?"

"I'm fine, the others are okay too. We've been hiding out these past few days."

"So have we. Speaking of which, have you seen the news in the Daily Prophet?"

Harry frowned at this. "Yeah. There's been quite a lot of it these days."

"I'll say. Well, we'll be going now. I just called in to make sure you all were alright. We'll keep in touch. Stay safe."

"We'll try."

Robin quickly closed the small device and returned it to his pocket. He turned around to face the others; the group had regained their seats on the couch.

"It sounds like they're alright," said Raven from behind her book. "What do we do now?"

"I say we just relax for a bit before training. I think we could all use it."

"Can't argue with you there," said Cyborg happily as he pulled out his portable Gamestation player and began to punch away at the buttons. Beast Boy continued to look for something decent to watch while grumbling something or the other about British television, and eyeing Cyborg jealously. Starfire moved over to the kitchen and began to prepare one of her infamous Tamaranean dishes, while Raven simply read her book, and Robin watched TV with Beast Boy.

A cacophony of sounds rung throughout the room and they might have been back at the Tower, enjoying a simple care-free day. Such moments of peace were rare nowadays and Raven sighed contently as she stared at the friends around her. She loved each and every one of them…even – dare she say it – Beast Boy. The love she had for them was the same she had felt for her mother back on Azarath. They were her family. And as she thought of the precarious situation they were now in, she realized that she would die to protect them…without a moment's hesitation.

She could only hope that they would all walk away from this war relatively unharmed.

She shook herself mentally and returned to her book. It was yet another tome she had borrowed from Hermione entitled _Practical Magic_ by Tom Handeloft. She searched for the place where she had stopped and continued reading.

----

About three weeks had passed since that fateful evening. True to his word, Robin had not allowed any member of his team to leave the Base and the others were not particularly thrilled by this prospect. The news on the television seemed to worsen as the month progressed.

It was clear to all that Voldemort must have seized control of the Ministry due to the many radical changes that were being made, most noticeably the Muggle-born Registration Commission. They had also gotten word from Harry that various posters of the Titans had been posted throughout many Wizarding locations. Though the lot of them were reluctant even to set one foot from the Base, they were beginning to get restless. How long could they possibly remain hidden from the Death Eaters?

The team had begun to formulate a plan as the rate of Muggle killings began to increase. It had been agreed upon that they would travel to various non-magical neighborhoods and Raven would cast as many protective enchantments upon the dwellings as possible. Initially, the half-demon had opted to simply go alone but Robin had quickly shot down that idea. It was too risky to travel alone given the state of things. Furthermore, Cyborg had also managed to hack into London's surveillance system which they could then use to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity.

As soon as they got word of an emergency, they would head right on over. Beast Boy and Cyborg were both particularly excited. The team had also made a routine of training every day of the week for about an hour or so. Back at Titans Tower they had not practiced nearly as much.

Raven continued to have odd visions of the doings of Lord Voldemort. However, more often than not, she did not dream at all, for which she was exceedingly grateful. On the rare occasion that she did have a vision, she often woke in a cold sweat and began to shudder violently for a seemingly interminable amount of time. The Dark Lord, she had quickly learned, was a very twisted individual. In many ways, he reminded her of her father Trigon…often killing for the mere pleasure of the act, even if there was no gain to be had.

At the present time, the empath had decided to cast a simple spell which, if performed properly, would enhance her psychic awareness. She sat cross-legged on the cold bathroom floor with various candles and the designated ingredients within arm's reach. Raven began by simply clearing her mind of all thought and detaching herself from all emotion before proceeding with the spell.

Once she had recited the last syllable of the incantation, she gracefully stood from her place on the ground, suddenly feeling more alert and reenergized. She promptly cleaned away her ingredients and placed them in the cabinet under the sink.

She made her way from the bathroom and decided to spend a good portion of the afternoon observing the surveillance system. For several minutes, she merely stared at the screen stoically, rather grateful for the inactivity. As the night droned on, Raven's eyelids began to droop heavily, her chin propped lazily on top of her palm, and she stifled a large yawn with her free hand. She glanced at the clock on the opposite wall; it was half past twelve in the morning. She curled her arms and laid her head down.

'Just four minutes,' she thought to herself as she closed her eyes sluggishly. When she came to, she was dismayed to discover that it was nearly one. She glanced at the monitor groggily yet nothing appeared to have changed. However, as she moved towards her bed in the far distant corner, intent upon securing a good couple hours of sleep, she spotted something on the dark screen. She detected a subtle hint of movement in the dark night, the thin crescent moon the only source of illumination; the slight rustling of a cloak. She immediately leapt from her seat and dashed towards the gymnasium. The others had been resting, but they immediately sped towards her as they noticed her frantic expression.

"Raven! What is it?" Robin asked worriedly as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"There are Death Eaters in Manchester!" Raven said urgently.

Starfire's eyes widened significantly and she clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oh my! We must go immediately!"

"Starfire's right," Robin nodded in affirmation. "Let's get going!"

The team rushed towards the living room, where Robin quickly gathered his utility belt, and briefly glanced at the large monitors. As they headed for the door, Cyborg immediately locked down the base.

"Lock down initiated," Cyborg called seriously.

"Okay Titans, let's go."

The gang of super-powered teenagers bolted towards the exit and wandered into the cold English night. The sky above the trees was vast and alight with thousands of magnificent stars, the moon concealed beneath a layer of stubborn gray clouds, casting the Earth in a frigid darkness. Starfire shivered visibly and began to rub her arms for warmth. Robin hastily glanced at the coordinates on his communicator.

"Alright Titans, 53° 00' latitude; -2° 13' longitude. Let's go!"

The Titans hastily took to the air, the brisk wind whipping their faces mercilessly. Starfire shuddered violently and rubbed her arms frantically. Raven's cloak flapped fiercely about her lithe body; her violet eyes had begun to fill with tears as she sped through the night air. In her peripheral vision, the demi-demon took notice of both Robin and Cyborg mounted atop a green pterodactyl. A solemn silence pervaded the air.

For several silent minutes, Raven simply focused on each breath of icy air which she took into her lungs, as well as the whistling of the wind. She gazed at the stars stoically, as well as the infinite gray sky. A rather unpleasant sense of foreboding clutched at her rapidly beating heart, which had also begun to lurch quite unpleasantly in her chest. She closed her eyes briefly and allowed a foreign calmness to enter her body.

"How much further?!" Robin shouted over the roaring wind, several minutes later. Cyborg checked the statistics on his biotical arm.

"We should be arriving soon!" he called back.

Raven attempted to stave off her exhaustion as the group continued to cleave through the thick clouds. For an instant, Raven wondered why she had not simply teleported the team to the location. She raised an eyebrow in self-derision. However, she reasoned that she needed to preserve her strength for the battle which might surely take place. The Dark Lord and his Death Eaters were a rather formidable bunch, and must not be underestimated, nor taken lightly. During her time at the Burrow, Hermione, whom she had grown quite fond of, had informed her that the Dark Lord had recently been reborn through the use of dark magic; a spell of the darkest design which required as its main ingredients, the bone of the father, the flesh of the servant and the blood of the enemy. Raven had been aghast to discover that it was Harry's blood which had been used for this sinister concoction. The empath shuddered noticeably as she recalled the face of Lord Voldemort: Pale, chalk-white skin with wide red eyes, black cat-like pupils and snake-like slits for nostrils, a maniacal smile pulling at the corners of his lipless mouth. Thankfully, the girl had yet to meet the infamous Dark Wizard, for which she was especially grateful. Of course, she had witnessed him several times in her visions.

"We should begin to land!" Robin shouted hoarsely. Raven pushed such dispiriting thoughts from her mind and began to descend into a large clearing. She let out a low breath and rubbed her eyes wearily.

"Let's get moving," Robin barked authoritatively with a sweep of his arm. The group marched quietly through the forest. The trees twisted at odd angles, casting formidable shadows upon the forest floor. Once they reached the edge of the woods, they concealed themselves behind a thick brush as their eyes scanned what appeared to be a typical suburban neighborhood, with rows upon rows of identical houses. The night was deathly silent.

"Where is the house, Robin?" Raven asked quietly. The Boy Wonder opened his communicator and carefully studied the schematics.

"It's on a street called Fletcher Avenue. This way," he pointed a gloved finger north, and the Titans began to amble forward.

"Look for house number 6601," their leader advised. While the others peered at the house numbers, Raven cast out her senses, ensuring that they were not being watched or followed. However, she detected an aura of maliciousness around the block.

"Guys," Raven motioned for the others to approach her. "I think the Death Eaters are around the corner."

Robin's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Beast Boy, can you go check it out? Be careful." Robin whispered with exigency. Beast Boy nodded and instantly transformed into a green fly. The changeling promptly zipped around the corner. In as little as thirty seconds, Beast Boy returned with a panicked expression upon his green face.

"They've placed some kind of force field around the house so that the police won't come checking!"

"Okay Titans, let's go!" Robin exhorted.

The Titans bounded towards the house and silently approached the building, which, as Beast Boy had indicated, was encased within a magical force field of some sort. Though it was apparent that a fracas was taking place within, the night was completely silent. Robin tenderly touched a hand to the semi-translucent shield and was quite surprised to find that it was not solid as he had expected. With an authoritative gesture he and the others plowed onward and the Boy Wonder swiftly knocked down the door with a powerful kick.

The Death Eaters seemed not to have noticed. Instead, a terrible cry of sheer agony seemed to shake the very foundations of the house and Starfire gasped loudly as she noticed the blood spattered quite gruesomely upon the walls.

"They're in the living room!" Robin whispered urgently.

Starfire prepared a large star bolt within the palms of her hands and promptly obliterated the living room door. They were horrified by the sight which met their eyes: A band of ten or so Death Eaters had begun to torture the Muggle family relentlessly and without mercy.

The tallest of the group raised his wand and shouted, "Sectumsempra!"

The man on the receiving end of his wand let out an anguished scream as thick blood began to ooze from the gaping wounds now covering his body. He lifted a quivering hand with which he attempted to staunch the bleeding, though his efforts were in vain.

Meanwhile, what must have been his wife and two children were subjected to the Cruciatus Curse; the mother, though clearly in pain, struggled to shield the children's eyes from the image of their father's mangled body.

"_Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"_

A powerful blast of black energy knocked the evil wizards against the far wall and the resulting 'crack' as the mens' spines melded to the shape of the concrete wall pleased Raven immensely. Several of the cloaked figures groaned painfully and propped themselves onto their knees as they tried to regain their composures. Their eyes widened in shock as they spotted the five teenagers standing in the doorway, each prepared for battle. Raven was positively seething with fury and her iridescent white eyes gradated to a demonic red.

"Titans, attack!"

Raven did not need to be told twice. She and the rest of the team immediately flew into battle. Within mere minutes, the Death Eaters had been subdued – though they had put up a good fight – largely due to Raven. The Titans had not seen her behave in such a manner since the events with Slade, upon whom she had once unleashed her demonic wrath. It was rather disconcerting though they had pushed it aside for the moment.

"What are we gonna do with 'em?" asked Beast Boy.

"I'll take care of 'em," Cyborg said tersely as he hoisted the unconscious Death Eaters onto his broad shoulders with only a minimum effort. He made his way towards the exit while the others had begun to clean up the mess.

"Raven, you take care of the family. We'll get this place cleaned up."

Raven nodded curtly and slowly approached the scared family; they recoiled slightly at the sight of her.

"Please, I'm here to help."

The man flinched slightly as Raven placed a glowing hand atop the wound on his chest, though he was in no condition to protest. He briefly closed his eyes as the pain from that particular cut vanished and the skin quickly mended itself. Raven did this for several more minutes until the man was completely healed. However, he had lost a great deal of blood and was unable to stand. The demi-demon placed a pale hand on his abdomen, gently hoisted the man to his feet, and set him down on the couch. Once she had ensured that he would be alright for the time being, Raven carefully approached the scared mother and her children. As Raven drew near, the woman desperately drew the children within her protective embrace and glared ferociously at the dark sorceress. Raven was suddenly reminded of her own mother, Arella…the 'messenger angel.' She willed the prickling beneath her eyelids to leave as she mustered a tiny smile and kneeled before the family.

"I won't hurt you. My friends and I are here to help…see?" Raven swept a hand in the direction of the Titans as they busily went about their work.

The woman's glare withered slightly as she looked to the girls in her arms with such love and care in her eyes. It was not until several seconds later that the mother finally relinquished her hold on the children and urged them to approach the cloaked sorceress with an encouraging smile. Thankfully, Raven noted, the girls had not been gravely injured during the revel, other than the occasional cut of the skin on their cheeks and arms.

"Miss," began the taller of the two girls, "are you and your friends gonna keep us safe from those bad people?"

"What's your name?" Raven asked.

"Alice."

Raven gave a kind smile as she placed a gentle hand on the girl's cheek and went about healing her wounds.

"Well Alice, my friends and I are going to place a few protective spells on your house so that those bad people can't hurt you again."

"Spells?" the girl asked in awe. "You can do magic?!"

Raven's lip curled upward in a slight grin. "I guess you could say that."

A few minutes later, the young girls were fully healed, as was their mother. She shook Raven's hand gratefully and repeatedly thanked her for all she had done. Raven simply nodded and went to rejoin her friends, who had seemingly completed their work as well. The teens moved into the hallway and began to discuss what they ought to do next.

"Do you think we should erase their memories so that they won't remember any of this?" Robin asked Raven. The empath shook her head.

"I think it's best that they stay on their guard."

"I believe Friend Raven is correct," Starfire offered. "We cannot be certain that the Eaters of Death shall not return."

Robin nodded.

"Where'd Cyborg go?" asked Beast Boy worriedly.

"I'm here."

Cyborg came in through the door and promptly dusted off his hands. Raven raised an eyebrow.

"What did you do with the Death Eaters, Cyborg?" Robin asked curiously.

Cyborg couldn't keep the smirk off his face. "Oh…they're hangin' somewhere."

"I really don't want to know," said Raven with a shake of her head.

"Well we should probably get going," said Robin grimly. The others nodded their assent and quickly crossed the threshold.

"Do your stuff Raven."

Raven closed her eyes and allowed the sounds of the night to overwhelm her senses as she began to concentrate. When she next opened her eyes, her pupils were no longer visible as they began to glow white. She crossed her arms in front of her; her cloak swirled unnaturally about her ankles, though there was no wind to cause it. Raven rose into the air and, several seconds later, she opened her arms wide and allowed the black energy to pour from her fingers and completely envelop the house. For a moment, the house was surrounded by a large black shield before it quickly faded into nothingness.

Raven descended gracefully onto the pavement and silently gestured that they ought to take their leave.

* * *

I...am...so...SORRY!!!! I know that it has taken me little over a year to post a new chapter! Life has finally got caught up with me and made it nearly impossible for me to work on fanfiction. I rue the day I consented to take AP classes. The workload has been tremendous. Thankfully, I've learned to manage my time and am able to write more frequently. What with Winter Break coming soon, I plan to work on future chapters. I still am not completely sure which direction this story will take, but if anyone has any ideas to contribute, I would gladly steal it. :]

Thank you all for your reviews! Once again, I'm incredibly sorry for the delay! I hope you enjoyed!


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